Boys Over Flowers
by Cassandra Royal
Summary: The Flowers Five are the most notorious pack of handsome, wealthy, popular, and powerful friends in all of Konoha City. Sasuke Uchiha, cold leader. Naruto Uzumaki, funny chef. Shikamaru Nara, genius. Neji Hyuuga, master swordsmen. Sai Ambu, awkward artist. Now enter Sakura Haruno, a hardworking schoolgirl with a strong heart that will change everything for these playboys. SasuSaku
1. Almost Paradise

_**Official **__**Boys Over Flowers**_ _**Summary:**_

_The Flowers Five are the most notorious pack of handsome, rich, and powerful friends in all of Konoha City. Each one is remembered by their defining traits, but everyone one of them also happens to be drop dead gorgeous. Every girl would die just to be in their presence. Sasuke Uchiha, the cold Flower Five leader and Uchiha Company heir. Naruto Uzumaki, the last president's son and a chef beyond his years. Shikamaru Nara, the son of a Nobel Prize winner and a lazy genius himself. Neji Hyuuga, Hyuuga Weapon's heir and a master swordsmen. Sai Ambu, a famous painter's son and a mesmerizing artist himself._

_Now enter Sakura Haruno, a hard-working schoolgirl trying to make enough money to get into college, who is unwillingly forced to attend Uchiha Academy after she saves someone's life. With Sakura and her four best friends, they unravel secrets and find loves that will last forever, but not without some controversy and drama along the way._

_SasuSaku._

* * *

**~Boys Over Flowers~**

**Part 1: "Project Break"**

**Chapter 1**

**~Almost Paradise~**

_"You're going to regret this," he vowed._

_Under the cherry blossom tree, with Sakura Haruno and the setting sun painting their figures into sweet honey-nut tint, a feeling lit in his chest. It was a warning, an ache, a concept he didn't yet understand, and little did he know that it would grow like a weed in his heart and ultimately become his undoing. _

_Burning charcoal eyes glared down at her, hatred and fury encrusted in his normally composed irises. His tall, lean body towered over her petite stature, looming over her none too kindly. He was the dominant figure in this power struggle, but she was not going to let him win without a fight. She would beat him at his own game if she had to, but she wasn't going to fall easily even if she did end up being defeated. But then again, she never lost when it came to a battle of wills._

_She had just made the biggest enemy in the entire school, and she knew it. No, scratch that... In the entire city. No one rose above him, no one could beat him, and no one certainly dared to defy him. But she would do all of those things by the end of the war. Hell, she had already done one of those things by defying his merciless tactics of intimidation and tormenting._

_She held her head high, a sweetly seductive smile etched arrogantly onto her lips. "No," she told him. "You are."_

_Thus began the battle of strength in the world renown Uchiha Academy. One beautiful blossom had challenged the great leader of the Flowers Five, but she wasn't alone, she had her own army to back her up._

_After that day, everything changed for the Flowers Five._

_This was about how Sasuke Uchiha, a wealthy heir had fallen irrevocably in love with a fiery and stubborn high school student named Sakura Haruno._

_This was their story. _

_._

_Ten Days Ago..._

"Sa-ku-ra!" Ino sang into her ear merrily, effectively waking the pinkette from her deep slumber. Her light pink lashes arched only for a second, before she was fully alert.

Sakura Haruno shot up from her bed immediately, startling her best friend into jumping back a step. "Jeez girl," Ino breathed. "You seriously need to chill." The girl in question groaned at the ironic and rather _pointless _advice.

"Says the one who _just woke me up_," Sakura retorted, still groggy. She yawned into her hand after that.

Ino held up her hands in defense. "It's not my fault that you just so happen to have four part time jobs and a full schedule during the school day. I'm just here to help, you know."

"Yeah," Sakura sighed, falling back into the covers. "I'm aware."

"By the way," the blonde added, sounding much more excited than before. The girl was practically squealing, "Did you hear about the new developments with the Flowers Five?"

The Flowers Five. Sakura did not want to even begin another discussion on _them_. She heard enough about them from her best friend. The five most dignified, handsome, hot, athletic, rich, and intelligent men in the entire country, let alone Konoha City. The five attended Uchiha Academy, the most prestigious school in the world, owned by Sasuke Uchiha's parents, but they also happened to be juniors just like them. The Flowers Five had been born into the grand productions of wealth and beauty, but they also had their separate traits and personalities to specifically define them from one another.

"I heard that Sasuke Uchiha just ended his relationship with his girlfriend!" Ino informed her, positively giddy. "And that Sai Ambu had just opened a new art museum downtown yesterday! Isn't that awesome, Sakura? We should soooooo check it out for ourselves!"

If not for Ino's absolutely engrossed outburst, she probably would've scoffed aloud. The girl was downright gaga over the Flowers Five, and thanks to her waterfall-mouth, Sakura herself practically knew every last detail about the Flowers Five's personal lives, well, that the tabloids sprouted out for the public anyway.

Sasuke Uchiha. Uchiha Company heir and the Flowers Five's cold hearted leader. The Uchiha company was a world renown organization that had their hands in just about every single industry there was, that had hotels, resorts, and cruise-lines settled all over the globe. Sasuke Uchiha himself was most notorious for his style, grace, and completely expressionless features. He also happened to be considered unpredictable. To the public eye, he was the man everyone wanted, but never got.

Naruto Uzumaki. The former president's son and a soon-to-be master chef. Despite the fact that he was just about as rich as he was famous, he apparently had had the roughest childhood of the Flowers Five. Both of his parents had died in a susceptibly _intentional_ car-crash, meant to kill the two of his parents, if not Naruto as well. Other than that, he was revered for his childish persona, and deliciously cooked concoctions. Apparently his favorite dish to either create or consume happened to be ramen noodles.

Shikamaru Nara. The son of a Nobel Prize winner and a genius himself with an IQ well over two-hundred. This guy was known for his extreme laziness and absolutely uncaring personality. Apparently he also had an odd tendency to doze off in some very strange locations. Despite his intelligence though, he was known for never finishing his homework, or cared to do any of his projects. He was a half-rate with extreme grades.

Neji Hyuuga. The Hyuuga Weapons Company heir and a master swordsmen. His company was much like the Uchiha's, but whose mostly revolves around weapon-based technology. They still seemed to have their hands in everything else though too. His personality on the other hand was another story entirely. Supposedly, cold, ruthless, and taciturn, he was known for shunning anyone who came too close to him, unless it was for a grand business deal.

Last but certainly not least was Sai Ambu. He was the son of a famous painter, but he also was an even better one himself. His father also happened to own several art museums around the world, the fair majority holding countless, priceless works created from famous artists from long ago. Sai Ambu himself was a bit of an oddball, and not to mention awkward, but that was what most thought gave him a bit of endearment. Based on the things she's heard though, _endearment_ was _not_ her way of putting it.

These were the Flowers Five. It was just a bit of details that gave everyone a starting point on their lives. It was just a taste of what Ino knew, and just a smudge of what Sakura had picked up over the many times the Flowers Five been their topic of conversation.

"Sure," Sakura answered, trying to sound excited. "Sounds fun."

"I know!" Ino screeched. "I can't wait! We should bring the rest of the girls. I'd bet everyone would love it! We just need the right clothes..." Sakura drowned the rest of the one-sided conversation out by getting up from her bed. Her waist length pink tresses were matted in bright coral clumps, and her eyes were seemingly dead from exhaustion. She gawked at herself in the mirror, a bit disgusted.

With a sigh, she brushed her hair, and pulled it into two low ponytails, letting them each descend down her front, and quickly changed into her work clothes. When she got out of the bathroom, she found Ino waiting for her at the breakfast table with the rest of the girls that lived with them.

Temari was going through her home-movie assignment.

Hinata was playing the flute with sheet-music surrounding her.

TenTen was jamming out in her seat, one headphone in her ear.

Ino was going through her lines for the most recent play.

Sakura on the other hand, with a bike-lock clutched in her fist, grabbed a piece of buttered toast, placed it in her mouth, and left the house with a few incomprehensible goodbyes to her fellow housemates and sisters.

.

"Thank you! Please come again soon!" Sakura sang happily as the door closed.

It had been a good day so far at the bookstore. She'd already had several customers that had wanted her opinion on certain books, and she was eager and downright elated to oblige. She knew everything about any book in the store, and had probably read at least half of what was already in stock. She was a very big bookworm, but it was her passion. Reading, writing; it was her life. And it was her dream to become a famous author someday. Now that was a fantasy worth waiting for.

She worked from the nine o'clock slot until noon during the weekends, and from three until seven on the weekdays. From then, she worked at a dry-cleaners, at a small clinic, and a noodle restaurant. Her free time was limited, but it was worth it to get money for college.

Sakura had grown up mostly alone until she the age of nine. She had lived as an orphan until Ino's family had suddenly adopted her, Hinata, Temari, and TenTen. But for some reason, she couldn't find it in herself to switch her last name from _Haruno_ to _Yamanaka _like the other girls had. Perhaps it was the way it rolled of the tongue, or maybe it still made her connected to whatever family she had originally been born into. It was sad really. She couldn't even remember their faces anymore. Too many years, she thought to herself, too many years. It was different for the others though, all they could remember was their first names.

Then she noticed that a number of books were out of order, and she quickly shuffled over to them. No use in disorderly shelves. It only confused the customers who knew their way around a library setting. Humming an _SS501_ song, she set to work, rearranging and cleaning up the shelves.

It was as she was trying to reach for a higher shelf that the door chimed for a customer. She absentmindedly spoke her normal jubilant greeting, not even looking at him full in the face as he walked in.

"Can I help you find something today?" she inquired politely, still reaching for the book she had to remove. She was on her tip-toes and it was only a hairsbreadth away from her needy hands. She was so close!

He didn't speak, but instead strode up to her silently as a panther, before he was behind her, reaching for the same book she was. He grabbed it, and she lowered to her normal height immediately.

"Thanks for that," she said brightly, staring at the book with a sheepish smile and finally took it back. "I'm just a tad too short sometimes."

"Aa," was all he said in reply.

Sakura took note of the countless books that needed replacing, and went back to work. "Was there anything I can help _you_ with though?" she inquired for a second time.

She was halfway to the other side of the shelf by the time he replied, "There isn't."

She hummed softly as the minutes past by. Titles and pictures went by in a blur until she was nearly finished. She smiled to herself at that. Maybe then Sakura could finally get some reading done herself. But, when she realized she had missed a certain name from the beginning of her trek, she backtracked.

Then she noticed a problem.

A repetitive problem, in fact.

A novel that was supposed to be placed in the 'A' section was placed in the 'S' section.

Then there was one of the 'F's in the 'A' section as well.

It kept going on and on, and Sakura was beginning to get frazzled. She had just cleaned all of this up! "What the hell happened here?" Sakura whispered, distraught by the time she found an eleventh novel out of place. It was just weird!

The sound of passing pages alerted Sakura of the man a few steps behind her, his back to her. He was casually flipping through one of her favorites, his expression unmoving. He didn't seem to specifically like or dislike it, which was good she supposed. She cast him weary glances at him through the shelves as she roamed the store though. Then he closed the book, the pages snapping back together in perfect alignment, and placed it uncaringly in the wrong spot.

Sakura stopped and stared. Did _he_ make the mess of miscalculated designation of all those novels?

She had just cleaned it all up, for God's sakes! A frown marred her face as he emerald eyes narrowed ever so slightly in irritation. There was no one else in the shop, and she had just witnessed him misplacing one. It had to have been him!

Just... _Lovely_.

Stifling a sigh, she replaced the books, _again_.

When she was finally done, she made it back over to the main desk, a favored book in hand. It was a few minutes of kindly peace...

Until she heard a rather loud _thump_ from the other end of the shop. Taken from the fantasy of the story, Sakura looked up for a moment in curiosity, but when silence overcame the store once more, she dove back in.

_Thump. _

She looked up again, but set her book down this time. She scrunched her brows in bewilderment, until a collection of _thumps_ made its way to her ears. This time she leaned over the desk to get a better view of the situation. More thumps ensued and she set her gaze to where the odd sound originated.

Her eyes widened in shock at what held her line of vision. That careless man was in her boss's office! Sakura shot up from her seat instantly. That room had been locked! How had he even gotten in?

"Excuse me, sir!" Sakura called over, racing over to the office. "Might I ask what in the world you're doing? You're not allowed access to these areas."

The customer was leaning over several open boxes, and simply claimed, "I have no obligation to you."

Sakura blanched, dumbfound, "You might have no obligation to me, mister, but you do to my boss, who'll knowing him, request for your immediate arrest for snooping in his office without permission!"

The man grabbed something from one of the boxes, and took to his feet, unwavering in his quest. Sakura sputtered, aghast. The nerve of this man! How dare he barge into her store and steal from her own boss?! It was absurd!

His strides were purposeful and had the slightest bit of elegance in them, as if he had been trained in dancing waltzes and several different types of athletics. The man himself was at least a head taller than her, and perfectly lean to match. She could even see the toned muscles hidden behind a dark leather jacket. Tall and dark.

But Sakura beat him to the door, her feet firmly planted a foot from his getaway. Her stance was challenging as she stared up at him, a hip cocked to the side while a hand rested there. She gave him her best eyebrow raise, that were as smug as any words. _You think you can get past me? Oh yeah, sure. Just try your luck mister, let's see what you've got. _

His eyes were hidden behind ebony sunglasses, but his porcelain white skin and high cheekbones with jet-black hair was enough to tell her that he had to be very handsome.

The man before her snorted, clearly unimpressed by her smug demeanor. Sakura merely shifted her weight, her eyes boring holes into his head. "I'm afraid that whatever you took should be returned. I'd also listen to me if I were you."

A hand that had been stuffed lazily into a pocket was raised to the door, but before he could even reach it, Sakura took his arm, spun herself around, pulled his arm back behind him, and slammed him against the window.

He let out an annoyed grunt before he spoke, "You have no idea who you're dealing with."

Sakura let out a burst of laughter. "And this is coming from the guy who's backed against the wall, and unable to move his left arm. Yeah, I'm afraid the person who is clueless here, is you, buddy."

"You can believe what you wish then."

Then in a matter of seconds, she was the one who was backed against the wall. Her hands were forced above her head, and the man, was suddenly mere _inches_ from her. He was so close to her that she could feel his hot breath on her flushed cheeks.

Sakura found that the proximity was as uncomfortable as it was frustrating, and she fumed, her cheeks becoming red with the oncomings of immaculate anger. She glared up at him, unable to wrench her arms free of his titanium grip no matter how hard she jerked. The only progress she got was a slight twitch of his wrist, but this only seemed to fuel his strength as it tightened even harder every time.

"Enough," he ordered, the beginnings of a scowl etched so lightly onto his face that she could barely acknowledge his resentment. "It's pointless."

She could faintly see his eyes under the veil of blackened shades. His gaze was set outside the store, moving slowly, as if watching someone's approach. But she didn't care about where his attentions were drawn; she only cared if it would cause his grip to loosen enough so she could remove herself from his clutches. She gave herself the count of three to gather her strength.

One.

His eyes gazed down at her for a mere fraction of a second.

Two.

His gaze lifted from her glaring emeralds.

Three.

His grip had lessened.

She threw her hands from him, only to realize that it was completely unnecessary. He had already released her. Stunned for a moment, she stood up straight and realized why.

Sasori Akasuna, her boss, was standing in the doorway, seemingly impassive as usual. The only sign of wonder, or even perhaps, confusion, was in his blinking array of fluttering eyelids, as if the view before him was one of an imaginary creation. "I see you've met my finest employee, Sasuke."

The name itself struck a finely bound cord within Sakura.

Sasuke . . .

That name . . .

. . .

. . . Sasuke . . .

. . . Wait a second here . . .

Sakura's eyes widened in shock.

. . . Sasuke?!

. . . It couldn't be . . !

. . . Could it . . ?

. . . Sasuke . . .

The looks, the clothes, the cold attitude, the distinctively disrespectful manners. It added up so simply, and yet the thought was nearly impossible to believe.

. . . Sasuke Uchiha?!

The man in question turned toward her for a second, his cool and unruffled expression painted across his face, but after he saw the look she gave him, he sneered down at her fearlessly. Sakura had to force herself not to choke on her own saliva after that. She was frozen in her spot, unable to move. She had gone pasty pale at the dreadful revelation.

Oh.

Good.

God.

"Wh-who?" Sakura croaked out, barely audible.

When he turned back to Sasori, he sounded a bit annoyed, "So I did."

"Were you here for the book you ordered last week?" Sasori inquired, closing the door behind him. "Itachi told me that you would be coming in soon to retrieve it."

Sasuke nodded his head, and grabbed the book out of his pocket. "I am."

"Follow me then."

Sakura, knowing that her presence was considered relatively unnecessary, scrambled to the further end of the bookstore to finally catch her breath and think normally again.

Then she realized.

Ino was going to give her a heyday when she heard about this...

.

The rest of Sakura's hours at the bookstore passed almost too slowly for her to bear. Even with the comforting silence and a good novel in hand, relaxation was nonexistent. She swore she had read the same passage at least seven times before she finally set it to rest and just watched the clock tick. Seconds felt like lifetimes and her entire body was twitching to move, to run, to just _leave_ that damn bookstore.

It wasn't until eleven o'clock _on the dot _that Sasori noticed her anxiousness, and decided to give her the rest of the day off. With hardly any customers coming in, and with her reliable track record, it didn't seem to bother him. He said it with a shrug, not caring less whether she stayed or left for the remainder of her time slot.

She couldn't have been happier to accept his proposal either.

Sakura was probably out the door in ten seconds flat, a wide grin adorning her face, and probably leaving a rather bewildered Sasori in tow.

With about an hour of nothing to do, she grabbed a quick bite to eat to resolve her mounting hunger. Her next job of the day was at a local dry-cleaners. Often what she did was personally deliver freshly cleaned clothes back to their owners. At least she got to move during those hours.

She ended up calling Ino while she ate, informing her rather awkwardly that she had something rather _important_ to tell her when she got back home for the night. The blonde was all too curious to figure out what she was referring to. The girl had no idea.

She was _so _going to freak when she found out.

But unlike the average girl, Sakura thought that her meeting the Uchiha heir was less than desirable... Especially under the circumstances she had brought upon herself.

But then again, it was _his_ fault for not explaining his acquaintanceship with Sasori. That was an unquestionable mistake on his part. He could've just explained the whole damned thing and she wouldn't have had to look like a complete idiot when Sasori had came back! He was her boss, and at the very least, she wished he hadn't had to have seen that. How embarrassing...

She nearly groaned on the spot just thinking about it. What a great morning this had been!

Then she looked up to the sky, her frustrations climbing back up once more, and screamed for the world to hear, "Thanks a lot, Uchiha!"

.

"Forehead!" Ino laughed as Sakura opened the door to their house.

She gave a halfhearted smile at the excited greeting, but it didn't fully reach her eyes. What a long day. It was the early morning events that had caused the downfall from normality and peace. All she wanted to do was sleep it off, and forget about it completely. But then again, she was rather interested in Ino's reaction.

"Hey Pig," Sakura greeted, locking the door for the night. The sky had begun to darken a few hours ago, and just a little light was left on the horizon. It was pretty, she thought. Then she took notice of just how quiet the house was. Usually between Hinata's music practice, and Tenten's constant need for blaring hip-hop, the house was always a little loud. Instead, it was silent. Sakura looked around in confusion. "What happened here?"

Ino waved her hand noncommittally, and planted a freshly made hot cocoa in Sakura's hands. "Temari needed people for her movie project. They're all downtown until later."

Sakura rose a brow. Ino never missed an opportunity to be apart of Temari's movies. "And you didn't go?"

"Well, it's not like I didn't _want_ to go," Ino told her. "You just sounded like there was something going on that's apparently 'important'. So, what is it?" Then she winked, taking a sip of her cocoa. "Finally have a boyfriend that I should know about?"

Sakura hardly had the energy to force out laughter, but tried a pained smile. "Ha, nope."

"Forehead, you're worrying me here." Ino's brow became creased with concern. "Really, is something going on?"

The girl in question sighed and sat herself at the dining room table. She stared at her best friend for a moment, before she grasped for the warmth of the coco. Ino was so going to freak...

"Forehead-"

Before another word could get out of her best friend's mouth Sakura merely cut in rather boldly and simply stated, "I met Sasuke Uchiha today."

Her reaction was immediate, but it was also slow. She blinked for a few seconds, straightening in her seat, before her cerulean irises went as wide as a saucer. She stood up quickly after, her chair falling back as she did, and slammed her hands down hard on the table. "WHAT?"

At that, Sakura did grin, chuckling a little.

"What the hell happened, Sakura?" Ino bellowed, slamming her hands down again. "You should've called me! I would've been there in _seconds. _Oh god. Oh god. Oh dear god, _you met Sasuke Uchiha_. I should've _been there_..."

"It kinda happened too fast for me to even contact you."

"What the hell happened then?" Ino demanded, staring her down. Clearly she was still in the strong hands of shock to be giddy just yet. She probably would be later though.

Sakura laughed.

Apparently her reaction caused a spark of malice to appear in Ino, as she glared at her, and she drawled darkly, "What the hell happened, Sakura?"

With a very amused grin, she told her story. And Sakura could admit that meeting the infamous Uchiha had indeed been interesting. It certainly wasn't your everyday type of meeting. While it did have its embarrassing points, it was a little different. An upset in her normal lifestyle.

One upset that she was sure to never happen again.

At least, that's what Sakura hoped.

The thing was though, she had no idea where her life was heading.

.

F5

A pink message. With five separate flowers in the middle.

That letter and number together on a piece of paper... It could only come from one _group_, and there was only one _place _where it could have been sent from.

It was a notice from hell.

And it only meant one thing.

Kankuro Shubaku stared, terrified. What he did next didn't even matter. He would be found wherever he went. There was no stopping the inevitable. The mayhem, torture, and psychological trauma was all that Uchiha Academy had brought for him.

"So he's the newest victim?" one person asked.

"Seems like it."

"That's Gaara Shubaku's brother, right?"

"Yeah, poor thing."

"The Flowers Five and the Uchiha Company in general are really hitting the Shubaku Company hard aren't they?"

"They've been falling for years since their founder and CEO was murdered. I suppose it only makes sense to get rid of the loose strings while they still can."

"Isn't Gaara Shubaku supposedly insane? I've heard rumors that he's even killed some of his workers..."

Kankuro couldn't stand it. It was too much. Too much.

He was shaking so hard that his hands were vibrating with tension. He slammed his locker door shut, and let the torment begin.

.

A few days later happened to be a school day for Sakura. It was still early, but she happened to work at the dry-cleaners pretty early in the morning, just about an hour before school started. So, dressed in a school uniform, and riding in a bike filled with a certain customer's clothing, she followed the exact address down to a T.

What she didn't figure out until she got there, was that she had arrived at Uchiha Academy. Sakura openly gaped at the grand schoolhouse the moment it had arrived into view, but it was more like a mansion hooked together with several other smaller, but still very large, mansions. She had actually had to go through a high-tech security check at the main entrance before she was admitted inside.

_Well, it is a very prestigious academy. _Sakura thought. _I suppose it would only make sense that they have their __own police system._ Still, she awed.

"Wow..." Sakura breathed, stunned at the sheer size of Uchiha Academy. She had heard the rumors from Ino on several occasions, and from the boisterous tabloids, but to actually see the it in person was another thing entirely. It was simply spectacular!

_So this is the place that that damned Uchiha goes to, ne? _Sakura grumbled inwardly, but outwardly she glanced around curiously, impressed at the scenic campus.

.

It had been three days since Kankuro had received that _flowered_ notice in his locker. Everyday had been more dreadful than the last, and he could barely even recognize his own face anymore as the days passed. He had ended up having to send two of his uniforms out to get dry-cleaned, otherwise they probably would've been completely inusable had he put them back on. But really, that was the very least of his worries now.

He had tried to make himself inconspicuous.

He had tried to run.

He had tried to hide his emotions.

Everything had ended brutally. Every last punishment was horrid. It wasn't just bullying, it was torture. Perhaps that was what led him to run in this deranged direction.

Kankuro gritted his teeth in finality. The gang of boys that the F5 had sent were following him, catcalling and bellowing the entirety of his sprint.

It would all end soon.

.

Sakura had checked all the known locations for her recent client, Kankuro Shubaku. From what she had recently heard from the news, his family's company was doomed to fail within the next few months. She found it a bit saddening considering his family had held it up for several decades. But it wasn't really her place to think that way anyway.

She biked around several buildings until she heard some girls gossiping that 'the victim' was on the rooftop. Perhaps her client would be there, but Sakura was a bit skeptical and weary about the use of the word 'victim' in any sentence. A sensation of fear swept throughout her.

Carrying a bag of uniforms, she hiked it up the stairs to the roof, earning a few odd glances along the way. She probably wasn't what the average student looked like in this school. No rich accessories, no dressy hairstyle, and no make-up. Just her plain, old self. Yep, the life of Sakura Haruno.

But she barely paid them mind. She had more important things to occupy it. Like 'the victim'. Did something happen? She had had a few mentally depressed kids at her own school over the years, and it was nothing to joke about. She was going to do something if she had to. She had seen enough sourness in her own life growing up in an orphanage. She didn't wish it upon others.

When Sakura got there, the rooftop was flooded with students, all grasping for the opportunity to take a photo of the teen that stood on the edge of the front of the notorious academy. What she had figured was correct then. Boys whistled unapologetically and girls cooed materialistically. It disgusted Sakura in the most revolting way possible. These people were supposed to stop such madness, not motivate and approve it!

A newfound rage barreled up in her, her face red, and hands clenched into tightly balled fists.

"Don't!" Sakura called out to the boy on the ledge.

A silence overcame the student crowd, and a bloodied boy slowly turned to face her. His face was pale white, but a stain of dried scarlett marred his perfect complexion. He had a shock of scruffy brown hair, and small eyes that stared at her, filled with longing. He wanted a way out, but that was not what she gave to people lightly. And this was not going to be one of those days.

Sakura strode up to him, her steps composed, her expression grim. A gust of wind traveled over the area, capturing her long locks into flying into its reassuring grasp. Her emeralds refused to leave his brown ones.

"Why not?" His voice was gruff, as if overused. "I have nothing to live for anymore..." he trailed off, his voice leaving with the wind, but his expression hardened with his words when he spoke again, "I also want to show those stupid _flowers_ that this torment will end with me."

He was bitter, but rightfully so. Whomever had done this to him had to be, persecuted, arrested, and punished accordingly. "That still doesn't give you a reason to end your own life," she argued softly. "This will not achieve anything."

He laughed, a remorseful sound that pained her heart. "You know nothing about me."

"No, I don't," she admitted truthfully. "But I do know one thing, and that's that you want justice for what happened to you. It's possible to get that with your state."

"Justice," he repeated, as if it was a foreign word. "Whatever justice I get isn't possible with the ones who did this to me. The Flowers Five are impossible to break, everyone knows that."

Sakura straightened. "The Flowers Five? They did this to you?"

"Yep," he answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And I already know how I'm going to get the justice I want." He paused, searching the sky, evaluating the answer that he had already discerned from the start. When he turned to her again, he simply told her, "I'm going to destroy them by using the very thing they tried to destroy."

Her eyes widened at the meaning. No. She wasn't going to let that happen. Not on her watch.

"Thank you for listening though," he whispered in the wind that flew around them.

Time seemed to slow as she raced up to him. He was falling, and Sakura's heart lurched in her stomach. The crowd gasped and screamed.

She was only a few steps away.

He was still in reach. She could only hear her breath as adrenaline coursed its way through her veins.

Two steps.

He was barely in her reach anymore.

Nanoseconds were hours in her mind.

One step.

Only his elbow was above the railing, and Sakura nearly dove after him, but refrained, her feet scratching hard against the surface to maintain some sort of balance.

The crowd was going wild at her efforts.

The hand that was descending to the ground was snatched away by her unrelenting grip. She had caught him, but just barely. The sudden increase in weight nearly dragged her down completely, but she refused to let go of his hand. She was not going to let someone die so easily.

The boy's eyes were wild, crazed and flabbergasted by her actions.

Sakura took a gasping breath, and used her other arm to distribute his weight evenly, assisting in his ascent to the rooftop. Her arms were straining already. The boy was heavy, but luckily, she was _strong_. Her years in martial arts were finally giving her a good reason to continue her training.

"Wh-why?" the boy mumbled.

Despite the grit, and the strain of her arms, Sakura smiled. "No one should die for something like this. Everyone has a role and having it end like this isn't yours. I am going to get you out of here, got it?"

The boy merely nodded and Sakura pulled like hell for what felt like an eternity. She nearly cried in pain when he was halfway up, able to hook his legs around the edge and shakily make it over in one piece.

Sakura had to lean against the rail for support, breathing heavy, her face red from exertion, but she gave anyone who dared even look at her funny a death glare heated enough that they ran away. The entire fleet of students ran in a frenzy to leave the roof after that. She figured that some of them would inform that _goddamned Uchiha_ about what she had done, but for the moment, she really didn't care about that.

The boy was just about as exhausted as she was, and both of them rested themselves against the rail.

"Who the hell are you?" the boy inquired after a few minutes of silence and rest, obviously dumbfound.

Sakura let out a brief chuckle and a smile. "Name's Sakura Haruno. I _was_ here to bring some guy his uniform, but apparently I got to save someone's life instead."

"Uniform?" he repeated.

Sakura pointed to the sheathed outfit across the rooftop. "For a guy named Kankuro Shubaku."

He stared blankly at it for a few seconds. "That's me actually."

"Well," she began. "Consider this job done then, because I'm pretty sure I've worked overtime... I'm also pretty sure I'm going to be late for school too."

He laughed tastelessly. "Yeah, you definitely are."

They lapsed into a brief silence once more, but a single question tugged at her mind, one that he had probably been deciding upon also. "What are you going to do now?"

She seriously hoped that she wouldn't have to go through this situation twice.

At that, he smiled slightly. "Well, since I had gone through the experience of having my life flashing before my eyes, and get saved by a girl that came here to give me back my dry-cleaning, I'd say that trying to kill myself again would be a bit pointless when I really don't want to go through this ever again."

"That wasn't exactly a clear answer."

He scratched his head and sighed, "I'm leaving this school and never coming back."

Sakura was a bit unsatisfied with that, but still glad that the bigger issue in this problem was being solved. All that was left was the people who had assisted in the beginning of this. "What about the Flowers Five?"

He sagged against the railing. "I'm pretty sure this has caused an upset anyway."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "How?"

"This school is filmed and photographed every second of every day. This is going to be everywhere in a matter of hours. I just hope for your sake that you don't get sucked into it."

Oh.

Good.

God.

Sakura's violet fury came back full force, a brow twitching in complete irritation. She yelled for the world to hear, "Damn you Sasuke Uchiha!"

.

The Flowers Five had just watched the beginnings of a scandal that would change their lives, but none of them knew it yet.

A long, pale finger tapped against his leather seat, the only sound in the entire room after the tv had been shut off.

"So, what do you think Sasuke?" Naruto asked, positively curious for his best friend's reaction. "I think she's interesting!"

The tapping stopped, but the expression on his face remained impassive.

"She's a bit out of the ordinary," Neji commented dryly.

"She's ugly too," Sai put out there, a fake smile plastered on his white canvas of a face for everyone to see.

"Either she's incredibly brave," Shikamaru admitted, his eyes closed lazily as he rested on the nearby couch. "Or she's incredibly idiotic to challenge you like this."

Sasuke, the F5 leader, sat back in his chair slowly, his arms nestled on the sides of the leather armrests. His cold charcoal irises drifted from the four men, before he simply put out his own thoughts, "She's incredibly annoying is what she is."

Only Sasuke had no idea of his future either.

.

.

.

**~Boys Over Flowers~**

**Updated: Wednesday, August 13, 2014**

_**Author's Note:**_

_Well hello there poppets~. It's been since April that I've even updated anything, and now I've started a new story?! It's crazy... I know, BUT, and I mean BUT, I do have my reasons for suddenly putting this out there. Recently, (probably within the last week and a half) I've been watching the actual Korean Drama that this story is named and very __**roughly**_ _based off of. It's a worldwide known hit series, and the idea just came to me really, really suddenly, and truly, the show is outstanding. I cannot explain to you my love for that series, and I've also been in a bit of a SasuSaku craze recently too, you see. So this is to that loving couple and that wondrous series. Also, I love you, Kim Hyun Joong! You'll always be my favorite Korean actor! I'll miss you, and wish you a safe return when you head off to military service! _

_By the way, the titles of the chapters are from the songs used in the Korean Drama, or from one of the main actor's albums. This one is Almost Paradise by T-Max (It was also the opening song for the show). _

_I really hope you guys review! It's been so long, and I hope you like this! _

_Now I'll probably finish the rest of the latest chapter of _

_. . . Tainted White . . . within the week, so until then poppets!_

_Ja-ne!_

**_-Cassandra_**


	2. Say Yes

_**Boys Over Flowers**_ _**Summary:**_

_Based upon the beloved Korean Drama of the same name, Boys Over Flowers features Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha as you've never seen them before as our lovely pinkette is unwittingly forced into attending a prestigious academy for the rich and famous after she saves one of their students from sudden demise. Set in modern Konoha City you'll see Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, and Sai as the Flowers Five, the hottest, most wealthy, and popular men in the entire city and as they rule over Uchiha Academy with an iron fist. But everything changes when Sakura Haruno arrives and challenges them to a power struggle of wills, ultimately and unknowingly claiming the heart of their cold, impassive, and cruel leader, Sasuke Uchiha. While Sakura, on the other hand, hates his guts. With dramatic plot-lines, thawing characters, a little music, and a lot of wealth, we'll take you and a journey of money, power, friendship, romance, and first loves that will last a lifetime. Boys. Over. Flowers. Any day... Or everyday?_

_SasuSaku._

* * *

**~Boys Over Flowers~**

**Part 1: "Project Break"**

**Chapter 2**

**~Say Yes~**

An image of a girl. A pink haired girl with a kind, ever-present smile and grassy emerald eyes. Her picture was displayed on the screen for every viewer in the entire country to witness firsthand. It was a school photo, as her uniform was made up in a black coat with a plaid blouse underneath. It wasn't very rich in fabric, therefore the school in which she attended was lacking, or at least, she was lacking economic reserves.

"Breaking news," the broadcaster began seriously. "Earlier this morning, a scandal unfolded at the prestigious Uchiha Academy, nearly resulting in the death of a young schoolboy."

One by one, pictures of the pinkette roamed by the screen, each one timed perfectly in stop-motion increments as the boy fell from the rooftop of Uchiha Academy, and as she caught him just in the very nick of time. They zoned in on one in particular, one where her face was only slightly turned up.

"No one on the scene knew who she was, and the boy who was saved quickly departed, escaping further questioning. As of now, police are individually questioning students to receive more details on today's turn of events. Only moments ago did they receive clearance to the security footage to identify the pink haired girl. Now people everywhere are wondering, who is this Wondergirl? And will we see more of her?"

Sasuke Uchiha clicked off the tv after that announcement and stood from his chair. He left the room soundlessly, throwing open the double doors as he departed his chambers. A few gasps and cries from the maids ensued, but he couldn't have cared less, he just stared right ahead. He had somewhere to be, somewhere he could think methodically without being disturbed.

The Uchiha Manor was a maze of grand corridors and glitzy, historical rooms, each designated for its own useful purpose. Every last one of the rooms were large and regal, the perfect outlook for someone of Uchiha standards, but to Sasuke, they were just empty rooms. While it was true that he enjoyed the luxury of being wealthy, sometimes it was just never enough for him to fully bask himself in its fine glory and truly relax. Why? Because it didn't even matter to begin with. It was all meaningless, pointless, and insufficient to acheive what he wanted. What did he want, you ask? Why, it was something most people would never expect.

So few knew the man behind the mask, at least, not truly. Only eight people on the entire plant knew what he wanted, but none of them could really solve the problem that festered deep inside him, or even quench his bottomless thirst completely.

Sasuke's feet stopped at the root of a tree. It was a tree of opulent beauty, with fine petals that danced and spun merrily in the carefree breeze. The mere zephyr of wind caused his ebony locks to waltz within its gentle grasp, but he hardly noticed its presence anyway. His charcoal irises watched as the branches swayed ever so slightly with that same breeze.

He placed his slender fingers on its rough bark, but the irritation slowly built up in him, and his hand scrunched together. His nails had scratched against the bark, hard. The action went unbidden, but the result was meaningless to him. Nothing would change. Nothing ever had. Everything was set in the same endless game that it always had been.

A cherry blossom tree. How annoying ironic that it happened to be his favorite. It just happened to match her hair color only too well.

A low growl made its way out if his throat, before he ripped his nails from the tree.

As he walked away, he barely paid any mind that his usually perfectly pale hands were marred with freshly streaming scarlet.

.

Fugaku Uchiha gazed unblinkingly at the array of pictures dispersed around his desk. Each one told a mere whisper of knowledge, and he wanted whatever he could grasp. He folded his hands together, his chin resting atop all, and his eyes downcast.

"Personally, I've never seen a girl with such exotic hair before," Shisui explained with a grin. He then proceeded to place his feet on the coffee-table before him, perfectly relaxed. "Have you?"

Fugaku didn't respond, though that was usual. Hardly anyone in the Uchiha family responded animatedly to Shisui's declarations, let alone pointless inquiries.

"I think that Sasuke-Chan finally has someone to keep him in check," Shisui continued, leaning back and closing his lids in tranquillity. Such a comfy couch... "It'll be nice for a change, don't you think?"

Dead silence.

He nearly sighed on the spot. Jeez, at least Itachi would've glared at him, but Fugaku was just a stone wall when it came to pointless chatter. How boring... He wondered if there was anyone else to bug that would be just a little more entertaining. But then again, getting a rise out of his uncle would be a very grand outcome, and a memory he would soon never forget.

Shisui's grin returned instantly with that thought in mind, and he leapt up from his spot to loom over Fugaku's desk. He eyed the pictures with interest, taking his time to study each one down to the fine details, before slipping one into his hand for closer inspection.

In truth, the moment Shisui had heard of the news that a young schoolgirl with pink hair had saved a student from Uchiha Academy, he had been immediately intrigued. It was an event that was definitely unique, especially under the apparent circumstances. Who knew that drycleaning of all things could save your life? The thought was a bit comical for him. He stared at the picture with a little more attention after that.

So... The girl was beautiful, physically fit, and mentally strong. What an ideal trio of traits to go up against the Uchiha Company heir with! He wiggled his brows to himself. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that little Sasuke-Chan was going to be remarkably annoyed with this situation. Inevitably he was going to do something to combat her persistence. He was one to take action to things that thoroughly bothered him.

The pieces were nearly all set accordingly to officially begin.

After all, the executive decision to fix this supposed problem was so _unregrettably_ simple.

Sakura Haruno, as they had already identified through strict security measures, would soon be attending the prestigious Uchiha Academy as a pleased 'thank you' for saving one of its precious students from sudden demise. His uncle had already given him the letter that would change lives. Now all he had to do was deliver it.

He smirked at both the picture and the _personally_, _handwritten_, letter that was signed by none other than _Fugaku Uchiha_, in his hand.

He couldn't wait to see this game unfold.

.

"Oh god..." Sakura whispered to herself, wishing nothing more than to crawl in a hole and die. What had she done? She covered her face with her hands, peeking through them momentarily as she watched the live broadcast with dread. Kankuro couldn't have been more right...

"You saved someone's life, Forehead?" Ino questioned, grinning for ear to ear. "At Uchiha Academy? Do you realize how big that is? That guy's family is probably insanely rich!"

"Looks like she's done it again," Temari remarked with a smirk, as she stood behind the coach with the two on it.

"Sakura, they're calling you _Wondergirl_," Tenten said in disbelief, staring at the the pinkette whilst pointing to the tv.

Hinata was the only one who smiled at her gently, the most reassuring of all the girls in the group. "This could be a good thing, Sakura," she told her softly.

A good thing? Sakura was dubious about that...

Then, ding dong.

"I'll get it!" Ino exclaimed, positively ecstatic that her best friend might just end up becoming rich and famous. "Never know," she sang to Sakura as she got up. "Could be that guy coming to personally thank you for your services."

Sakura didn't think so. Kankuro certainly hadn't seemed very keen to indulge her in his wealth after she had saved him, and besides, she doubted a proper 'thank you' was ever going to happen. She would have to let Ino in on that later...

"So what did happen?" Temari asked once the platinum blonde had ran to get the door.

"It's..." Sakura hardly knew how to explain the situation that had happened only this morning. "...Complicated," she said at last.

Temari raised a brow. "I can understand that; they're calling you Wondergirl, after all. But seriously, what happened?"

She was saved from answering as Ino came prancing back into the living room, practically beaming with joy. But there was someone behind her, his face set in a mischievous smile, and a pair of burning charcoal eyes watched her, a pair that she had only seen on one other person in the flesh. This man... She knew who he was. She has seen him on tv plenty of times to identify him correctly. He was none other than Shisui Uchiha, Sasuke's cousin, if she remembered. He also happened to be President Fugaku's secretary.

"Based off your reaction, you already know who I am." He grinned at her, as if he knew something she didn't. "You just don't know why I'm here... But on a side note, it's lovely to meet you in person, Miss Haruno."

When he held out a hand, she stood, a bit bemused by his sudden appearance. She took his hand, and nearly shook, but instead he bent downward, and kissed her hand softly. Sakura flushed instantly on contact, obviously not ever expecting to receive such a greeting in her lifetime.

He smirked deviously as he regained his full height.

"Mr. Uchiha-" she began, but he cut her off.

"Just Shisui, please," he waved dismissively, the smirk still intact. "Only the main family can be called by a name so formal."

"Shisui," she began again, still bemused and a bit embarrassed. "I really don't mean to be impolite, but please, could you tell me why you're here?"

He cocked his head to the side, his eyes sparkling. "Manners," he murmured sweetly. "I like that."

Sakura nearly blanched, barely able to form words as she was speechlessly tonguetied. What the hell?

At her look, he chuckled lightly, shaking his head. Clearly he was amused. "You must forgive me, Miss Haruno. I do actually have reasons to come here, I just like to have a little fun is all." At that, he cleared his throat, the smirk dissolving into a mere smile. "I have come to inform you that because of recent events, you and your friends have been selected to become full-ride scholarship students at Uchiha Academy." Sakura's jaw dropped, all propriety and politeness out the door, and her friends rivaled her in terms of shock. This is how they wanted to thank her?

"You all have excellent grades, beyond par to any average school, and after today, you personally, Miss Haruno, have showed great will." Ino looked like she had just been slapped in the face, the shock still engraved deeply into her features.

"We at Uchiha Company are deeply impressed." Temari just raised her brows, incredulous.

"And wish for you to attend our school." TenTen was on the verge of bursting into laughter, probably thinking this entire affair was ridiculous.

"This is not just out of gratitude by saving one of our students, but out of faith in your abilities." Hinata had gone white as a ghost, if she could get any paler in comparison to what she usually was.

A painfully awkward silence began, and to be completely honest, that _wasn't_ the effect Shisui had wanted.

After a few moments to digest, Sakura collected whatever remained of her bearings. "You.. The Uchiha Company wants us to attend Uchiha Academy?"

Shisui nodded kindly.

"Full-ride scholarship included?"

A nod.

"For all _five_ of us."

Another nod.

"Because of me saving a student's life?"

Then... Another nod.

Sakura snorted slightly, "You have got to be kidding."

"Not at all, in fact, the Uchiha family implores you all to go."

She scoffed then and folded her arms together, popping a hip to the side. How dare they think she would ever want to go to that hell, especially after what she had seen! The people there were materialistic and cruel, exactly the people she loathed with a fiery passion. She then stared at the man before her, challengingly. She swore she felt the room drop ten degrees as the seconds ticked along. She simply told him, "I refuse."

A pin dropping could've shattered in the silence after that, and after glaring him down, she began to walk away. Sakura had no idea of the smirk that had significantly grown since she had last looked up at Shisui Uchiha, but then...

_Clap._

_Clap._

_Clap._

Sakura froze in place.

She could hear him chuckling too.

"You are _exactly_ how I'd imagine you'd be, Miss Haruno," he explained, pure and exalted giddiness seeping into his words. It made them mean something, and with his giddiness, he spoke as if he had just won the greatest prize in the world. "It's quite extraordinary, really. How ideal."

She turned slowly back toward him. "What are you talking about?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, smirking with his hands stuffed in his pockets. And as if to combat her previously challenging aura, he strode right on up to her, towering over her like a skyscraper would to a house. Sakura fought the urge to smack him over the head, but settled with a deep frown, unwavering as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" he asked. "I'm talking about you, Miss Haruno."

"No really? I thought you were talking about the weather."

Shisui chuckled again. "You really are the perfect candidate for the job."

"What _job_?"

His smirk deepest even more. He was enjoying himself to no end, and her silent anger was fueling that arrogant fire of his. "Why, I thought you were disinterested in the proposal I gave you! Hmm... Did I change your mind, perhaps?"

Sakura snapped, the burning anger and curiosity causing her actions to go farther than she would normally would allow herself to go. She grabbed him by the collar, her face now mere inches from his. "What job?!" She demanded.

That damn smile was still painted across his face. "Why none other than to keep Sasuke Uchiha _in check_."

Her grip was released instantly, bewilderment causing her hands to slacken, and her eyes widen. Shisui straightened instantly. "Let me explain." He smoothed out his collar as he spoke again, "My little cousin has become a bit of a wretch these days, often tormenting kids at Uchiha Academy, and more often than not, chasing these students away forever. He's gotten cold and even more emotionless than his brother, which is practically _impossible_ to do. But anyway, Sasuke needs someone to set him straight. While his mother may bring support and love, his father is nothing of the sort because of his stubborn personality, and because of both of his parents' traits, neither of them are willing, or for his mother's case, are able, to make him change. Because of his standings, my little cousin has become ruthless, tactless, arrogant, and increasingly intimidating to approach in any form or fashion, and in truth, not even the handful of people that know him well have ever actually questioned his methods with enough determination to bring him down. But you, Miss Haruno, in my opinion, have the most successful chance of doing just that."

A moment past...

"Excuse me?" Sakura intoned quietly, perturbed by the revelation.

"You want Sakura to _break_ Sasuke Uchiha," Temari spoke incredulously, speaking for the first time.

"Honestly, that sounds kinda cool," Tenten interjected, imagining their strong Sakura facing the mighty Uchiha heir.

"No!" Ino cried, the situation hitting her dead on. "You can't break my precious Sasuke! No!"

"You..." Sakura mumbled, facing Shisui. Then at last she uttered the one question no one else had, "Why?"

"Because the boy needs a spanking, and no one has been able to do that job properly since he was three."

"No... Not that reason," Sakura told him, smiling slightly, and a bit curious for the answer. "Why do you _personally_ want this done?"

With her wonder, he grinned like a child. "Why none other than to simply put him in his place, of course! And well..." He trailed off, shrugging. "His older brother wanted favor from me. Basically told me to find someone with enough fire to, in your friend's way of saying it, break him. I figured that I'd kill two birds with one stone."

Sakura brows knitted together in confusion. "'His older brother'?"

Shisui outright laughed at her expression, the sheer lack of common knowledge surprising him. "Itachi is five years Sasuke's senior, and the original heir of the company before he renounced his title a few years ago to become a musician. It was a huge deal in the media for months actually. Ha. Honestly, it's kinda strange meeting someone who doesn't know about Itachi. I swear, between him and Sasuke, I never hear anything else."

Sakura paused, letting the information seep in. "Then why does he want this done?"

"Why'?" Shisui repeated with a sense of obviousness. "Because Itachi knows as much as I do that Sasuke needs a slap in the face. Hell, anyone in their right mind that knew his true personality would agree with me on that."

Sakura was in disbelief. "You and Itachi Uchiha want to _break_ Sasuke, as in the powerful, and mighty Sasuke Uchiha. And _you_ want _me_ to do it. You do realize that kinda sounds ridiculous and also, might I add, very suicidal." She pointed at him accusingly. "Besides, what exactly do you expect me to do, fight him? That wouldn't solve anything! In fact, the only result would him being pummeled into the ground, and me being chased around by extremely obsessed fangirls, and not to mention all his subordinates from The Uchiha Company that would want to kill me for what I did!"

Shisui chuckled wholeheartedly at the idea of Sasuke being pummeled into the ground. The thought was just too amusing for him to pass up the opportunity. "I'm not exactly expecting you to 'pummel him' as you say, Miss Haruno, albeit that would be entertaining to watch, mind you." He grinned wickedly. "Instead, I want you to question his authority. That alone will shock him to the very core of his icy heart. From then on, he'll probably challenge you, mock you, or even try to torment you like he's done with other students ."

"Then going to Uchiha Academy would be suicide," Temari argued from her spot on the couch.

"Ah!" Shisui sang, his index finger pointed toward the ceiling. "But she has you four to back her up, and based on the spunk I've heard coming from you and Bunbun over there, you can handle it." Tenten grimaced at the nickname, but didn't retort. "There's also the fact that Miss Haruno here seems quite independent and able to bounce back from situations that aren't exactly considered simple."

The charcoaled eyed man gaze trailed to the pinkette then. "You also have Itachi and myself if the situation arrises. We can help you by any means possible. The Uchiha Company has no idea of our involvement, after all, not even the stubborn prez himself. We can assist you in the little things."

"I still don't really... _Want_ to do this," Sakura told him, a bit weary.

To take down Sasuke Uchiha... The thought was practically impossible to ever believe. But then again, she remembered Kankuro and the taunts of the students. The utter lack of respect for others was appalling, and they had cheered for him to jump. It was as if death was a good thing to them.

Secretly, Sakura wished to help people in need. She wanted to assist the underdog until success followed after him. She wanted to stop the torment that the Flowers Five caused for innocent students. It was as if they had nothing better to do than to see the grim-reaper take a bright soul from a living creature, and cast it off into the land of the dead. The mere thought alone disgusted Sakura to no end.

She was stuck at a crossroad with no idea of where to go. She knew both directions, but the fate that was in store was a mystery if she went to Uchiha Academy.

"So, what's your decision going to be, Sakura?" Hinata inquired softly, a pretty head cocked curiously to the side.

Then she realized, she couldn't decide this whole thing by herself. She had four other girls to consider! If they didn't to do this, then everything would return to as they always had been, eventually. The whole Wondergirl thing would pass with time. But if they wanted to do this, then god help them, because they would be walking into the firepits of hell, herself especially, but it just wasn't her call to make alone.

They were her friends. They had a say in what they all did together.

"What do you guys think?" Sakura asked, turning to her four best friends in the world. "This isn't just about me, after all. I mean, you guys might just get tormented too, and I really don't want that."

"Tormented?" Temari snorted, a perfectly made brow arched rather cockily. "Oh please, I'd probably be the tormenter. Personally, I think this whole thing would interesting; going up against the most powerful person in the city, in all. Honestly, I really want to go just to see how this turns out."

Tenten laughed and agreed merrily, "I concur with Temari on this one, Sakura. The two of us would be the tormentors! And to be completely honest too, I really want to see this happen! You against him, now that I want to see!"

So their little democracy already had two votes, but seeing Ino's dreamy gaze, Sakura already knew her answer. "What do you think, pig?"

The girl in question grinned from ear to ear, bursting at the seams with elation. "What do you think my answer is, Forehead? Of course, I want to go! If only to see the Flowers Five in person..."

Sakura sweatdropped at the perfectly _Ino_ type of response. It went without question for her. Now that made three, but the fourth would definitely be the final determiner. Hinata was the quietest, most shy girl she knew, and she couldn't imagine what Sakura would do if someone dared to hurt her. And at Uchiha Academy of all places, she was apprehensive.

"Hinata?"

The graceful beauty of their group smiled. "I too believe in this, Sakura. Those people need you." With those words, Sakura knew without a doubt that if something ever happened to the girl, if she got hurt in any way, she would be the first to really pummel whoever caused the damage.

"So it's settled then," Sakura began, turning to the lone Uchiha in the room, who grinned impishly. "I accept your offer, Shisui."

He clapped once, his hands clasped together in glee. "Perfect. I'll see to it that you receive everything you need to know about Uchiha Academy within the next few hours. You begin tomorrow."

.

"Might I just ask; why the hell this costs so much?"

"Considering the fact that I don't work in the Uchiha Clothing Factory side of the company, I really have no idea."

"It's a uniform."

"Yes, one that I'm paying for."

"No, The Uchiha Company itself is paying for it."

"That's like the exact same thing, love."

Sakura just rolled her eyes. Shisui had been significantly helpful within the last several hours, but they seemed to banter more than holding up a civil conversation. They had also gotten over calling her 'Miss Haruno', but the alternative wasn't exactly what she preferred over just plain old 'Sakura', as he mostly just said, 'love' or 'dearie', or sometimes even 'lovely' despite her utter lack of pleasure for each and every one of those nicknames.

"Oh Sakura, please," Ino whined. "Just stop! We get free uniforms that are just about as expensive as our yearly rent. Please, I beg of you, just stop complaining about the price!"

She just scoffed and retreated to the other side of the shop. Sure, she should be happy, but happiness was the very last thing on her mind. She would be attending the most prestigious academy in the country, with amazing courses and the best teachers from around the world, but yet again she was reminded why she was even acknowledged in the first place. By saving Kankuro Shubaku's life, she had opened the doorway to hell. She would be facing the Flowers Five, for god's sake. The stress was mounting.

But then again, she would only be waiting for a day. Then things really began.

Sakura clenched her fists tightly.

Despite all the stress, she was ready, but for what, she had no idea.

.

"You chose the girl they're calling Wondergirl?" Itachi rose a very calculating brow.

Shisui felt a bit sheepish at the title the media had given to Sakura. "That would be correct."

"Hn," his cousin grunted, turning back to the piano. He ran his hands over the eighty keys, but he never let them fall into notes. "You have good taste."

Shisui was startled by that for only a second, before he was brimming with wicked pride. Compliments from Itachi were often cloaked with sarcasm, but genuine praise was rare and far inbetween. "Well of course I do, little cuz, I'm never wrong about character."

Itachi didn't respond, but began a very challenging piece that Shisui couldn't even read from the music pages. It was different than the majority of songs he played, more lively, but also dark. It was also one he's never heard before. He furrowed his brows in confusion. He briefly scanned the title only to find that it was nameless.

"Hey, what song is this?" Shisui inquired.

Itachi didn't stop. "I'm not really sure yet."

"You... Didn't actually _compose_ this did you?"

His fingers suddenly slammed down on the keys and Shisui flinched. How violent... Lively, but violent. He let the notes linger until they were nothing but mere hums. The auditorium was silent after that.

He didn't turn. "She looks familiar..."

Huh? "Who looks 'familiar'?"

Itachi appeared to hesitate, his hands roaming stealthily over the keys. "It's nothing," he said at last.

This behavior was odd, if not a bit disturbing. Shisui hadn't seen this side of his cousin often, and it only happened when he was troubled, confused, or in very deep thought. It made him a bit weary. Situations when Itachi was in this state were usually executed with extreme caution and expert servalence.

Maybe Sakura going up against Sasuke Uchina wasn't as good as he had originally thought...

"I'm not too worried for her."

Itachi had already resumed his play, but the statement was one he would never forget. For him to actually believe that Sakura could succeed was incredible. Shisui smiled to himself.

_Neither am I._

"Well I got to head out, Little Cuz," the elder sighed. "The girls need some info on the school since they start tomorrow."

He was met with a musical display that couldn't even rival the greats as he departed. What he didn't know though was Itachi's soft curiosity as he whispered into the music, drowning it out almost completely, "Why does she look so familiar?"

.

"Oh!" Hinata gasped softly, a hand flying to to cover her gaping mouth.

TenTen whistled, "My, my, my..."

"Goddness..." Temari marveled, stunned, and even a bit appauled.

Had Sakura been in a drama, Ino probably would've screamed her lungs out, but she settled for a dazzling smile, her cerulean orbs pooling with unshed tears.

The five stood at the gates, awaiting further instructions from their 'guide', which was Shisui in a proper disguise. They had exited from a limousine of all things, by President Fugaku's request, and had been personally chofered by Shisui, who happened to look like a secret service agent. The whole cherade was a bit much, she had to admit.

"It's my sincerest appologies that I cannot take you inside for a grand tour first," Shisui admitted sorrowfully. "But since Boss Man wants you all to start immediately with the other students... I'm afraid the request I made was a bit late."

Sakura shrugged, a casual smile lighting up her face. "It's fine, I'm sure we can find our way around anyways."

He didn't look so sure. "Alright," he sighed. "But I'll be there to pick you five up again, ok? Don't you _dare_ leave without me."

A chorus of _yes_, and _sure_, and even _of course_ went about either enthusiastically or exasperatedly through the five, and Shisui just grinned, obviously only hearing the more excited replies than the latter. Before Sakura knew it, he was gone, lost in a sea of departing cars, and she was left with her friends watching as students entered animatedly with their possies and overly madeup hairstyles. She knew she wasn't the only one to think that the entire spectical was redidulous, but a certain blonde was whipping her head around in excitement fast enough that her ponytail was wailing Tenten in the face several times over.

"Ino!" Tenten barked, effectively grabbing the end of the elated blonde's hair, and pulling down on it harshly. "Enough! I'm getting whipped by your Repunzel hair! I am not your idiotic Prince Charming that actually wants to climb it, you know!"

"Owwwwwiiiieeee!" Ino whined, crying out. "Ok! Ok! I get it, I'll stop!"

Hinata chuckled lightly, her pale cheeks pinkening. "You are definitely not the Prince Charming of her story, Tenten."

Tenten scoffed and gave one last pull that resulted in a yelp from Ino. "Tell me about it. I'm more like an assassin sent to kill the princess."

Temari smirked. "You and me both sister."

Ino fumed, rubbing her scalp. She was definitely going to have a headache later no thanks to Miss BunBun. "Che! I agree with both of you, you're both freaking violent!"

"So am I!" Sakura told her best friend, smiling through her words and on the verge of laughter.

"Yeah, but at least you have the look of a princess," Ino growled, before she turned to the two tomboys of their group. "But you two!" She pointed at them assusingly. "Do not!"

Temari and Tenten both rolled their eyes, uncaring. "Whatever," they said in sync. After that, they both headed through the gates. Then Sakura and Hinata, both engaged in a conversation about the pinkette's recent story ideas went through, leaving the fuming blonde in a state of anger. It was all to quickly that that very anger became desperation.

"Wait for meeeeeeee!"

.

Sakura walked along the stone paths around Uchiha Academy, a school map in one hand. Her eyes scanned the extravagant exteriors searching for her first class of the day. She had been doing this for about ten minutes or so, and so far, nothing came up. She had even inquired to other students about the location for her class, but they all had just scowled at her, giving her a disgusted once over. Inevitably she has just stopped asking completely.

She had separated with Hinata awhile ago, leaving the girl to her own search since their respected departments were on whole different sides of the academy. Sakura sighed, finding herself in a little rest spot with flowering trees and a small bench. She was totally lost.

Then, something extraordinary happened.

A soft melody of a violin suddenly reached her ears, and Sakura snapped her head in its direction. The song was saddening, describing stories of painful heartbreak. Sakura's chest constricted at the voiceless story, the notes creating images of longing and lost love in her mind. It was a painful tale, obviously a tradegy of unspoken lengths. Whoever was playing must have gone through so much.

Her feet traveled a distance before she could even realize where she was headed, and Sakura blinked in wonder at the sight before her. A man stood a few yards from her, his lids closed to fully convey his wistful message, the emotions rolling through the song in waves. His hair was long, and it draped down his back in a low ponytail, almost a charcoal gray in color. His skin was like pure alabaster, as if he hadn't stepped into the sun in ages, and his face was one of the most handsome she had ever seen. If only for the stress lines that marred his near-ideal face, he would've been like an untainted angel sent down from the heavens above. Even his clothes were classical and deliberately fancy, telling of his artistically musical fashion.

In Sakura's opinion, he was beautiful.

Her lips parted in awe, watching as he played.

But it was as if he had noticed her appearance, because he abruptly ended his ministrations. She froze immediately, fully realizing the situation she had brought upon herself. Her heart sped up rapidly, embarrassed by her actions.

His charcoal eyes opened slowly, carefully. He brought his lovely instrument down as he gave her an expressionless stare, but she swore she saw a quick flicker of astonishment cross his face before it disappeared into nothingness once more.

"Uhh..." Apparently she still had a voice to use. "Do y-you know where... Where the Writing Department is?"

He contiued to merely stare at her, probably gaging just how stupid she was, before he pointed to his left.

"T-that way?" She pointed in the general direction he gave her. "Umm thanks..."

She hesitated in leaving, feeling like an awkward mess, but quickly found her footing, not even daring to look back. She swore that man had looked like someone, someone important, but her mind was already muddled, and thinking with some actual thought was nearly impossible right now.

Sakura left the scene running, her cheeks burning uncontrollably.

.

Sasuke's ebony hair was flying in the wind.

As any normal morning, he left his home from his personal helicopter. They always dropped him off, and it certainly left a fine impression into the students. He was the top dog, the unquestioned dictator at Uchiha Academy. He was the man the every girl desired, and the man that every guy wanted to be. But no one could become Sasuke Uchiha, no one could replace or destroy him, and he made sure of that.

He gazed up as the helicopter departed, the gusts causing his obsidian suit to rustltle and flap. His hands were nestled comfortably in his pockets, and the sun was warm on his features.

The grass swayed, his hair flew, and his clothes rustled. All the while, the sun was shining, the sky was clear, and the day was fresh.

But that didn't mean it would be a good day, after all, it hadn't been in a long time.

.

Even with the help from _The Angel of Music_, as she had named him, Sakura had ended up in the main building, standing on the second landing that could view the front doors on the bottom floor. She watched helplessly as students came and went, her arms arched depressingly on the railing. She wasn't getting anywhere... She could only hope that the rest of her friends had found their ways without problems.

"Oh God! Oh God! OH MY GOD! It's the F5!

Sakura eyes widened slightly as students scambled and screamed to get to the lower landing. All the girls were shreking at pitches she didn't know possible, and all the guys were grinning excitedly. Being amist the chaos, Sakura had been forced to move along with the jumbled crowd to not get squashed and trampled. She had cursed silently as she was pushed around, scowling lividly at whoever dared to face her.

Then she was standing amoung frantic peers as the sun shined with enough force that only a white glare could be seen from the main doors. The screams only rose in pitch as vague outlines of broad men appeared, and Sakura watched grimly as their handsome profiles reached her vision. They had no idea of the storm they were walking in. A feeling of knowing anxiousness grew within her chest.

Sai Ambu walked in on the far left, his expression seemingly content to bask in the glory of his admirers, but she knew better. Her eyes narrowed slightly, _his_ eyes weren't smiling. How peculiar...

Neji Hyuuga was on the far right, seemingly composed besides the small cringe in his brows. He was annoyed, probably by the unrelenting shrieks. She could understand that well enough.

Shikamaru Nara ambled lazily forward from the middle left. Based on the utter boredom plastered on his face, he probably wanted nothing more than to sleep the day away in a peaceful serenity.

Naruto Uzumaki definitely had the most swagger of the five, coming in from the middle right. He winked and waved to many, sending fangirls fainting in lines. Clearly he was enjoining himself.

And last, but certainly not least, was Sasuke Uchiha. His cold charcoal irises were facing forward, while his hands were sheathed coolly in his pockets. He brought up the front and center, effectively obtaining the most attention than any other member of the Flowers Five. God, he was just about as intimidating as he was hot; not even Sakura could deny that of him.

It also seemed to her that they were glowing unnaturally. It just had to be the blazing sunlight. She swore, if they had seriously made clothes that literally glowed, she would walk right up to Sasuke Uchiha and bash his face in. They didn't need anything more to enhance their unbearably handsome looks!

With those thoughts in mind, the F5 continued on, the crowd parting for them. Only one girl in particular managed to keep her shaking knees from moving away from her position in front of Sasuke. She was also holding a small cheesecake with both of her hands, her smile shy, shyer than Hinata's even. This couldn't possibly end well... Dread formed instantly in her gut.

"I-I hope you accept my heart," she whimpered, her smile wobbling.

Sakura's heart stood on its end as he stared impassively down at her, unflinching and unrelenting. The entire student body was painfully silent as they closely observed the exchange. Sasuke slowly took it in his hands, his gaze never leaving the girl's, and the crowd gasped, shocked. Only Sakura knew that the gesture wasn't of acceptance, at least, not completely. She bit her lip. This scene was simply horrific... And it was almost too obvious what was going to transpire, but despite it all, it broke her heart as her prediction became a reality.

Without hestitation, the cake was thrown in the girl's face.

The crowd was at a moments standstill before bursts of laughter and giggles were thrown and hollered. Fingers were pointed in awe and hilarity, and the girl just ran from the room, her supposed friends following after her.

The entire thing disgusted her to no end.

And all the while, Sasuke Uchiha was smirking.

Rage built up in her, and her hands were clenched hard enough to leave welts.

The F5 were walking towards her now, and she stood her ground, unwilling to submit.

"Oh! You!" Naruto Uzumaki yelled, pointing a finger at her in bewilderment. "You're that Wondergirl everyone's been talking about!"

Neji Hyuuga ended up punching him from behind, causing the blonde to cry out in pain. "Shut it."

Curious eyes from both Shikamaru and Sai ensued, but she only scowled at them.

"Have a problem?" Sasuke questioned.

This wasn't the time. Not yet. She wanted a few more peaceful days before the chaos of the F5 began, so Sakura swallowed her pride, her rage, and her hatred. "No," she told him thickly, her lips pressed in a thin line.

Then, with most rebelliousness she spun on her heel and walked away, her hair flowing behind her. She knew she was being stared at by everyone, but that was the effect she had desired.

"Not yet, Uchiha," she spat to herself. "_Not yet_."

.

.

.

**~Boys Over Flowers~**

**Updated: Saturday, August 23, 2014**

**Author's Note:** _Why hello there poppets, nice to see you so soon, no? Honestly, I completely adore this story. It's interesting since, I do actually plan on Sasuke falling in love first. Those stories I just adore! Especially since it doesn't start off that way usually... One of my personal favorites would be "Quietus" by Angelhearted. To be completely honest, it's definitely the best story/book/fanfiction that I've ever read/seen, and the author is simply spectacular!_

_Next chapter the chaos, feelings, rage, and the F5's torment begin. Oh I just can't wait!_

_By the way, for those of you who don't know, Shisui was an actual Uchiha, apparently a cousin to Itachi and his supposed best friend, so there you go._

_Also, the Akatsuki are some of my favorite characters, so they'll all be good guys, often being Sakura's employers or Itachi's friends. _

_The title/name of this chapter is "Say Yes" by T-MAX, another song from the Korean Drama that this story is roughly based upon._

_On a personal note, volleyball and school (10th grade for me!) are starting up, and I have two AP classes this year, so updates will be thinned out considerably to maybe even once a month, maybe less... I apologize wholeheartedly for that, but school comes first!_

_Please review, they're like little chocolate truffles of happiness for me! Also, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I loved writing it!_

_Ja-ne!_

_-Cassandra_


	3. Blue Flower

_**Boys Over Flowers**_ _**Summary:**_

___Based upon the beloved Korean Drama of the same name, Boys Over Flowers features Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha as you've never seen them before as our lovely pinkette is unwittingly forced into attending a prestigious academy for the rich and famous after she saves one of their students from sudden demise. Set in modern Konoha City you'll see Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, and Sai as the Flowers Five, the hottest, most wealthy, and popular men in the entire city and as they rule over Uchiha Academy with an iron fist. But everything changes when Sakura Haruno arrives and challenges them to a power struggle of wills, ultimately and unknowingly claiming the heart of their cold, impassive, and cruel leader, Sasuke Uchiha. While Sakura, on the other hand, hates his guts. With dramatic plot-lines, thawing characters, a little music, and a lot of wealth, we'll take you and a journey of money, power, friendship, romance, and first loves that will last a lifetime. Boys. Over. Flowers. Any day... Or everyday?_

_SasuSaku._

* * *

**~Boys Over Flowers~**

**Part 1: "Project Break"**

**Chapter 3**

**~Blue Flower~**

Sakura took a very deep breath, before she let everything out, "I HATE YOU SASUKE UCHIHA! You're a freaking _heartless_ prick that doesn't know how to smile! You don't were born in the laps of luxury you damn pig, and have never had to work a day in your life! You don't know what pain feels like! What hard work feels like! You're just a god-damned rich boy!"

She breathed ruggedly, her heart on the brink of exploding. She sagged over the side of the railing, eyes searching the clear skies for the answers she desired. It had been four days since her last face-to-face encounter with Sasuke, and thankfully there hadn't been any other suicide attempts since Kankuro.

Within the last several days, Sakura and the girls had all finally settled in like any other regular students. Their peers sometimes still looked at her wearily, but she didn't care much about that. She had also eventually found her way around the campus. She could now locate her classes without trouble after speaking with some of the staff from the main building.

As for the F5, they still made their grand entrances in the morning and sometimes even made formal announcements about their group during lunchtime. Sakura had already begun to make the habit of avoiding them as much as possible. Quite often she found herself shrinking in her seat to avoid eye contact with them. Things seemed to go smoothly when they weren't around, and for that she was grateful.

It had been after two days that Shisui had questioned her progress on "Project Break" as they had decided to call it. She had sheepishly told him that she hadn't even started on her extra assignment, but planned on beginning soon. With that response, he had accepted without complaint. The school year had only just begun a few weeks ago after all.

An annoyed yawn suddenly echoed from behind her a few seconds following her outburst, as well as a few incompressible grumbles. Sakura turned around instantly at the sound, frantic. Apparently she had awakened someone from their slumber on the lower landing. She could only see a pair of sleek dress pants because of the stairs in the way, but she knew enough that they had to be extremely expensive.

She could only hope that it hadn't been one of the F5...

"What a drag..." The man grumbled distastefully, before yawning once more. "I hadn't even been here all that long either."

That voice! She swore she had heard it from various sources before. Then her heart plummeted in pure dread at the revelation of his identity. That grumbling voice belonged to none other than Shikamaru Nara, the lazy genius of the F5! Oh God... It just had be be him... In truth, if there was anyone that she didn't want cornering her besides Sasuke himself, it would have to be Shikamaru Nara. There were stories that told of him being able to decipher someone's life story by just a vague glance at them, and Sakura _most certainly_ did not want him to find out about her secret assignment that she had received from none other than Sasuke's cousin and brother. In truth, she wanted nothing more than to simply cover her face and run _far_, _far_ away, but her feet were firmly planted in place, unabiding to her internal desire to run and get out of the immediate vicinity.

In her mental distress, she hadn't realized that the proclaimed genius of the F5 had already begun his trek up to her. He was looking a little worse for wear, seemingly exhausted. He rubbed his head groggily, probably wishing to retire back into the land of dreams, but it was his _eyes_ that made her worry. They were perceptive, hidden behind a lazy facade. His mind was a secret weapon that was intellectually sound; beyond that of anyone else's in the entire world. He gave her a very discreet once over as his feet reached the top of the landing, and she couldn't even imagine the sheer amount of facts she had found on her by just that single glance. The implication worried her.

"So you're the one who woke me up," he drawled. "You know that not many people would agree with the things you said."

Sakura hardly knew how to respond, feeling her cheeks burn. "I-I..."

"Hmm let's see," he began, a finger tapping against his chin mockingly as he continued to stare at her, "Which was better, the 'heartless prick' or the 'damn pig' part?"

Sakura's eyes widened. He had heard all of that?! Her face snapped back up to meet his.

"Hmph," Shikamaru smirked. "Personally, I agree to both of those remarks, as well as everything else."

"You..." Sakura trailed off. She did not have a clue on how to respond clearly to that other than to question him, "You seriously _agree_ with me?"

He scoffed, casting a glance to the clear sky. The clouds were large white puffs, slowly moving along the horizon in a fluffy elegance. "Anyone with some common sense knows that."

_Then not many people have common sense._ "I see..." she responded warily instead, unknowing to where this odd conversation was heading. Where was this coming from anyway? Why was he even speaking with her so casually, and about one of his best friends of all things?

"Listen," he said, his causality changing dramatically into calm formality. She looked up at him, trying her best to school her features and probably failing miserably. "I realize exactly what's going on. You can't fool me. No one can, after all." He leaned up against the side of the railing. "I mostly just want to inform you that Sasuke is quite... Er... _Irritated_ by your display. Everyone else has their own opinions, others more to your advantage, but mostly that doesn't fall into the majority, especially since Sasuke is the one that makes the decisions."

"If you're trying to warn me," Sakura began softly. "Go ahead and try, but I'm not going to just sit by and watch as more students become bullied by your Fives' hands."

"You do realize that by you actually acting against us will only cause your life to become utter hell."

Hell. What did he know of hell?

Sakura chuckled sadly, a humorless sound that echoed lightly against the stone staircase. "Life_ is_ hell," she told him. "I just happen to be in a harder section of it, however that doesn't change much for me. I'm still alive, and as long as I am, I'm not going to give up."

He stared at her. Was he curious? Was he figuring her out? The seconds ticked by slowly one by one until a light breeze swept past them. It was after that that his stare broke, and he sighed into the wind, exasperated.

"You're different than most people."

The comment caused her to raise her brows. Different? Sakura breathed a light scoff. "I would hope so."

He smirked, intrigued, before he began to stride leisurely down the stairwell, hands tucked inside his pockets. Then he stopped, as if he had forgotten something, and turned his head to face her. "When all the drama's over, let's play a game of chess. I would like to see how you think, Haruno."

She was a bit startled by his words, but accepted them nonetheless with a curt nod and few words, "I look forward to it." Truly she was, and that was no lie. It was nothing but the truth.

His light taps ricocheted off the stone and bounded lightly in her ears. She heard him all the way down to the bottom step. Then all in one moment he was gone, lost into nothing but the cool, afternoon music of the breeze.

It had been a calm day so far, Sakura thought. Too much tranquility... Something was going to happen, something that would change her life. It was probably time to begin.

With a retreating sigh, she left the stairwell.

.

The hours trickled on by one by one, each having meaningless situations. Classes were interesting, but life at Uchiha Academy was less than admirable for Sakura. Luckily, it was just a little after lunch. Her friends had all eaten together in the grand cafeteria a few minutes prior, chatting animatedly about their findings and academics. It was always a relief to see her friends during the lunch hour, but the feeling was quickly washed away when they had to separate once more. Currently she was taking a leisure stroll with Hinata at her side, both of whom were taking bites of ice cream from their edible cones.

"You know Hinata, I had this amazing story idea that came to my mind recently," Sakura explained excitedly. "Like usual it involves assassin-princesses, cold knights, courageous princes, and of course, _magic_."

Hinata smiled, lighting up her normally calm features. "I'd like to hear about it sometime, you're ideas are always so original, Sakura."

"Haha, thanks. Original, huh? Sometimes I wonder if half my stories are the same as the previous one I thought of, just different characters."

She took a lick from her ice cream before she replied, "I kinda think you're lucky like that." The words were wistful, mysterious even, and a bit sad. It made Sakura question if she had said something offensive to cause such a reaction.

"What do you mean?"

Hinata stopped walking and she paused. "I envy you, Sakura," she admitted. "I always have."

The quiet beauty of their group envied _her_? "What?" She asked, aghast and completely confused by the prospect. "Whatever for?"

Hinata wrung her hands, the cone trapped in between her fingers and she shifted from one foot to the other, seemingly anxious. She obviously didn't know how to respond, but when she did, her face was flushed red from embarrassment, "Do you remember that song I began to write awhile back that I said I finished?"

Of course she did. Hinata had practically been beaming with sunshine when she had told her about it. And when she had played what she had written on the piano... The utter euphoria that had radiated off her had made Sakura grin. "I do. It was beautiful, Hinata."

The bittersweet look on her made Sakura's heart ache, her opal eyes downcast and unwavering. "I never actually finished it... I could never think of a good ending that would give the rest of the song justice. There wasn't anything original enough that ever came to me... I... I envy you because of that... It's one of the reasons anyway."

A silence began, and neither realized that their ice cream was about to melt. They especially didn't realize that that mere coincidence would cause everything to shatter into a million pieces, never to be returned to its original state again.

_Step._

Normalcy would be gone.

_Step._

Lives would be altered.

_Step._

Love would prevail.

_Step._

Hearts would be thawed.

_Step._

The sounds reached Sakura's ears, and she swung her head around, her pink tresses following in vibrant waves around her head. Then, the sight that fell into her line of vision made her stomach drop. Pure dread made its way through her veins, chilling her.

"Oh no," she whispered to herself.

Five blazing figures were striding purposefully toward them, all of which were holding expressions varying from glee to impassiveness. The front, as always, held Sasuke Uchiha, one hand lazily tucked into his trousers' pocket while the other swung gracefully at his side. He wasn't looking at her, but at the cobblestone path ahead, uncaring and effortlessly cool.

Then she spared Hinata a glance, who was blushing a deep scarlet and staring wide eyed at a certain blonde member of the F5, Naruto Uzumaki. She was about to take her wrist and get out of their way, but something unexpected happened, something horrible.

They were right in front of the F5 now, and the two bowed their heads as they quickly sidestepped the beautiful men. Only, a sudden and awful thing transpired.

_Glop._

Sakura's eyes widened. Oh, good God...

The top of Hinata's ice cream had landed on Naruto Uzumaki's, probably priceless, designer shoe.

"Ah, eh?" The blonde grunted confusedly, a head cocked to the side as he looked down. "Is this ice cream? Wh-Who?" Then he snapped his head back up, blinking his cerulean eyes as Hinata squeaked and took a step back.

"I-I-I'm hor-horribly s-s-sorry," Hinata stumbled, terrified. "I-I did-didn't mean to! I swear!"

Sakura observed Naruto closely, who was more confused than angry, but he grinned impishly soon enough. "Haha," he chuckled, weaving a hand through his hair sheepishly. "It's alright. I've got dozens of pairs at home. No harm done."

Hinata's mouth was agape, unable to speak besides a soft, incomprehensible, mumble.

Sakura was about to breath a very grateful sigh of relief, but a cold voice nearly stopped her heart, "Clean it up."

Time went still, motion went slow, sound went quiet, and emotions flared uncontrollably in different directions. All because of his word.

Hinata went ridged.

"Clean it up," the voice intoned with more force this time.

Sakura slowly gazed up at the youngest Uchiha, who had set his intense sight to the bluenette. His hair was perfect, his skin like white porcelain, his height and attire intimidating, but it was his seemingly frozen charcoal irises that were keeping Hinata spellbound and in place. The poor girl was probably thinking she was at her demise right about now.

"Sasuke, really, it's okay," Naruto coaxed, trying in vain to keep the Uchiha from scaring the girl even more. "I've got dozens."

His piercing stare never left Hinata as he spoke, "An act like this cannot be forgiven so easily, Naruto."

Sasuke took a step forward, but Sakura beat him to it, placing herself in front of her friend. She smiled up at him, her hatred reaching her ultimate breaking point. "I do believe she said she was sorry."

"An apology is inadequate."

Inadequate, huh?

"Is that so?" she sang. "Then what is _adequate_ enough?"

His eyes narrowed into slits. "Whatever I consider to remedy this situation."

The smile dropped from Sakura's lips and she took a moment to truly let him know the extent of her rage as her aura darkened to black. Then, without a second's notice she threw her ice cream into his face, ending the strained silence that stretched on as chuckles and gasps broke through the calm.

Sakura didn't stay to watch the outcomes of Sasuke's rage, because she grabbed Hinata's limb hand and ran like hell out of the area.

.

_That girl just committed an act of war,_ Itachi thought. _And she knows it too. All that is left is the official declaration from each opposing side, and the F5's calling card. I hope she's ready, but then again, she's not the one I'm entirely worried for. My little brother will have trouble with this one... She's different from other people._

Itachi had observed the destructive exchange between the girl and his brother knowingly. Various outcomes were constructed in his mind, some negative, others positive. He knew Sasuke, how he worked, how he got angry, how he broke, but he barely knew the pink haired girl who was obviously brave enough to challenge his little brother. His hypotheses however were all with the assumption to her actions, which were mostly based off the previous two encounters she had had with his brother.

Even with that in mind, one result stood out from the rest, one that surprised him slightly just by thinking it. The possibility of it ever happening was so slim, and yet all the other results were thrown out the window because of its chaotic and inevitably dramatic, implications.

His little wretch of a brother...

Itachi felt a twinge of horrification and fear as he rubbed one of his temples.

... _He_ was going to fall in love.

"This can not possibly end well," he mumbled. "For either, or in fact, for _any_ of us."

.

"Sakura Haruno, you have no idea just how much I hate you right now."

Sakura rolled her eyes. It wasn't her fault that Sasuke Uchiha was such a jerk and that she had the backbone to stick up for Hinata.

"Ino, would you rather have seen Hinata groveling on the ground?" she asked, poisonous sarcasm dripping venomously off her words in thick clumps. Her blonde friend just bit her lower lip, looking away. "No?" Sakura sang, before her fake smile dropped completely. "I didn't think so."

"Sakura!" TenTen whined. "Why did you just run? You're delaying the inevitable right now by hiding and running."

"She _is_ right," Temari agreed.

"But delaying the inevitable would mean we get to be normal students for just a few more days~!" Ino complained, her lips parted in a childish pout. "They might just think we come from prestigious families..."

TenTen snorted, "Oh yeah, because Sakura's name being plastered all over magazines, tv, and internet pages is totally low key enough to make the students believe that the rest of us are just like _them_."

"The common problem still remains the same," Temari cut in seriously. "Everyone at the school knows something's going to happen, especially that Shikamaru guy you told us about earlier, Sakura."

Ino clasped her hands together at the mention of the genius of the F5, stars gleaming brightly in her eyes. "Ahh... Shikamaru-Kun~"

Sakura sighed, exasperated and feeling exhausted. "I know, but until I get that letter from them, nothing has to happen. Let's just let the time pass peacefully until then." She tossed her hair to the side, getting annoyed by her sidebangs. "I only did what I did because Hinata needed my help. It's not like I _wanted_ to do that."

"Cause a scene and an uproar within the school?" Temari began, smirking. "We know that. But wanting to throw ice cream in Sasuke Uchiha's face? I personally know for a fact that you must have enjoyed that."

The brief encounter with Sasuke certainly had been a bit of an adrenaline rush, especially being able to do what she had done. Sakura chuckled aloud at the picture in her mind. At the time it had been terrifying, but after the fact, it was fully amusing to recount.

"Oh," Temari purred. "I knew it."

In that moment, four of her five friends were all in the front courtyard, near the main building where she had first gained her _Wondergirl_ title. The school day was officially over, and Sakura could only imagine what the following day was to bring. Drama and torment was her presumption. Yes, just another life in the day of Sakura Haruno. And what a lovely life it was... _Not_.

The only person that wasn't currently with them was Hinata, who had said she needed to finish up some schoolwork that required the use of a piano. So the four stood and watched as the sun began to descend further down the horizon. Eventually, when nearly everyone was gone from the campus, the sun was flaring a soft orange tint into the twilight sky, with still no sign of Hinata anywhere. Shisui had already met up with them a few minutes prior, tired of waiting in the car.

"Where is she?" TenTen pondered, the beginnings of worry showing in her voice.

Shisui checked his watch. "It's nearly seven o'clock, girls."

Temari turned to Sakura. "She would've contacted at least one of us by now."

"I'm kinda worried now, guys," Ino whimpered, rubbing her arms to get some warmth from the cooling air.

Sakura thought for a moment. Temari was right; Hinata always let people know when to wait up or leave her because of how long her music lessons went. Not getting any notice from her was distressing, especially since she _never_ forgot to let someone know.

Then a sudden idea came to mind, one that made her eyes widen._ Sasuke Uchiha... You couldn't have. Could you?_ She couldn't put it past him to do something to the innocent bluenette after what had happened that afternoon. A frozen breeze then swept past the group and a chill went up her spine. Goosebumps rose from her skin as a result.

"I'll be right back..." she told them aloud, distracted and horrified by her thoughts.

Then Sakura bolted from her spot, startling her friends. They let out a few startled cries, but didn't follow. They still hollered and questioned her actions as well as her selected location of arrival, but she barely paid them heed. All that filled her head were thoughts of what could be happening to the pale-eyed beauty. She had sworn to not let anything happen to Hinata and she would keep that vow until the end.

It didn't take very long to get to the Music Department with her running experience, but she certainly wasn't feeling very animated. She was weary and troubled, hoping for nothing more than for Hinata to be unharmed by the monster that was Sasuke Uchiha. She burst through the main doors in a rush, racing through the dimly lit corridors until she found the room that Hinata took her classes in.

And indeed, her suspicions had been correct. There he stood, untainted beauty in all, tearing apart papers before Hinata. The sight probably wouldn't have been all that heart-stopping if the papers had just been ordinary music sheets, but_ that_ piece in particular had Hinata attempting in vain to pry it away from him, tears pooling in her eyes.

Sakura was struck dumb in the doorway.

Then his dead sight was set on her, utterly apathetic. He observed her reaction as he tore and tore and tore the sheet into sheds. They descended down like little angels falling from heaven, adulterated by his supposedly glorious hands. The torn pieces waltzed to a wondrous requiem, falling, falling until they hit the floor like little snowflakes during the lovely winter months.

She ground her teeth. That song was important to Hinata!

How _dare_ he?

Sakura strode right up to him then, the pure loathing consuming her every thought, her every action, her every word. It was all centered right on this horrid, horrid man. Her hands made their way around his collar, forcing him to bend down to meet her eyes. He was playing with fire, a deadly, rampaging fire, and he had absolutely no idea that one day it was going to going to kill him for causing it to augment and enrage. She would kill him if it meant ending all the god-damned chaos he created for everyone else around him.

"You are a low-lying bastard, Sasuke Uchiha," she growled at him. "You are sick and twisted, and a god-damned prick."

He grabbed her hands and pulled, but she was stronger this time, she had let her fire explode, and that made her so, much, stronger. Her hands held firm, nails digging into his collar.

"You messed with fire, girl," he told her, a flicker of rage traveling past his eyes.

Sakura found that hilarious, throwing her head back as she laughed humorlessly in his face. "No, Uchiha, you did, and you know what?"

No response.

Her face hardened like a stone. "You're going to bet burned."

She released her grip, but instead of fleeing instantly, she slapped him hard on the face.

She heard Hinata's gasp.

"And get burned badly."

She grabbed her paled friend and left the room with no hurry in mind.

.

"What _happened_ to him?" Naruto whispered, baffled by the bright red handprint on one of Sasuke's cheeks.

"Was it from a lovers quarrel?" Sai pondered curiously as he tapped his chin.

Shikamaru smirked, thoroughly amused as he break shooted the colored marble balls, sending each and every one of them scattering across the pool-table. He knew exactly who had given Sasuke such a vivid marking, but it had probably been rightfully received in the first place.

"It was probably from that Haruno girl," Neji bit out.

_So the truth is revealed._

_Thunk._

_Thunk..._

_Thunk..._

_Thunk._

Ever since Sasuke had returned to the lounge, he had been chucking dart after dart after dart, each one usually more violent the last. All of which had deeply embedded themselves into the wall. The first few throws had caused Naruto to flinch, and Sai to grimace, but Neji just quirked a brow, while Shikamaru on the other hand smirked widely. He had begun to like this pinkette. Maybe school wouldn't be so boring anymore, usually it was so troublesome, but now, with these recent events, maybe it would change... For the better even?

Shikamaru almost scoffed aloud at his sudden positivity. Since when did he think positively? He was methodical, intelligent, and most people would describe him as painfully, _painfully_ realistic no matter what the situation entailed.

But a nagging feeling tugged at him nonetheless.

_A better future, huh? Maybe someday, but not day._

Then he heard Sasuke grumble, "Tomorrow, everything begins for you, Haruno, and you better be ready for hell."

_And definitely not tomorrow... _

.

The following day a card was placed in Sakura's locker, one she had been expecting since the day she had arrived at Uchiha Academy. Her heart didn't plummet to her feet as she had expected it to, but she did feel the beginnings of dread formulating. She pinched the pink card between her thumb and forefinger, holding onto it hard enough to produce a dent as she scrutinized it down to the most unimportant of details. Four intricate silver flowers dominated the picture, with _F5_ printed formally in the center with ebony ink. They made it look like it was just another card, but the reality of receiving one... Well she had seen how far Kankuro had been willing to go because of it.

"Sakura Haruno has the F5's card!"

A chorus of gasps and materialistic laughs barraged into her eardrums and she did the one thing that made sense for the moment. As a crowd began to circle around her, Sakura tore the paper into shreds, just like what Sasuke had done to Hinata's song. When she was done, she threw the pieces into the air, gone, forgotten, just like fallen angels.

Without another word she left the premises. She had a class to be at.

It was only when she came into her classroom that the laughter continued and she noticed just exactly why. Her desk... It was covered with comments, nasty, swearing words, and awful descriptions about her, but atop her desk... Her favorite book of all time was torn apart, shredded pages falling from the sides and tainted with bloody red ink and even more horrid words. As she slowly paged through it, her hands were shaking, with rage or fear, she wasn't sure. Her pink tendrils were the only thing that veiled her expression from onlookers, a soft safe haven that was far too small to comfort her completely. Then she gripped the book tightly, enough that she could see the white of her knuckles flair and brought it to her chest to keep it close to where her heart laid.

Words... They were a thing of beauty... The very thing that kept people together across the globe. Lovely, lovely words.

And Sasuke Uchiha had tainted one of the things she loved most.

Whatever fire she had yesterday was being smothered by his attempts to break her. He was hitting home, piecing her through the skin with a strong blow, but certainly not enough to kill.

He had opened a flesh wound, one that stung, but didn't inflict dramatic damages.

She was not going to be undone so easily.

Then she broke loose from the smothering, because Sakura lifted her head, glaring at her classmates.

"Go ahead!" she erupted. "Go ahead and laugh all you want!"

This only caused the laughter to increase, but Sakura accepted the laughter, accepted the cursed desk, and accepted the bloody book, because tolerance was the key to winning this war. And she wasn't through with Sasuke Uchiha yet, she would show him that she didn't break easy. She wasn't just another girl for him to toy with.

.

"Tell the family that I'll be in Australia for a few months."

"You want me to lie."

"I do."

"You do realize that If I'm found out to be lying, Fugaku will have my head on a silver platter."

"You're not going to be found out."

"Then I have to entrust my life with you."

"You do."

Shisui groaned, falling back onto the couch. "Itachi, you're going to get me killed one of these days, first Sakura and now this. That's not to even to mention all the other stuff I've had to do for you over the years. You seriously owe me."

"I've never done anything that requires you getting punished," Itachi reminded him, arms crossed over his chest as he towered over his cousin.

Shisui scowled. "That's because you've never been _caught_! But _I'm_ the one that has to go through the stress of worrying about it! And now you've brought in five other girls that could get hurt because of this scandal."

Itachi nearly, _nearly_ rolled his eyes. "That girl is going to be fine." _She nearly pummeled you into the ground the first time you met her, after all, and I can just imagine how deadly she'll be when it comes to Sasuke's attitude._

The elder sighed heavily, sinking into the couch as he did so. "Fine," he relented. "I'll tell Mr. Prez that you're going to Australia. But why the reason to lie? It's not like your family will really care whether or not you're in town."

Itachi didn't give him a cold stare at that rather careless remark, probably because he knew as much as Shisui did that the Uchiha family considered him to be a 'rogue'. Their words, not his. They had threatened to disown him on several occasions, often reiterating that they would revoke his surname from anything official and cut off relations with him completely. This didn't ever actually happen, but family matters between his family were strained beyond compare, and often the only form of communication Itachi ever actually had with the family was from Shisui, or by Itachi's stealthily peculiar ways of obtaining information from unknown sources.

It probably hadn't helped that when Itachi had turned eighteen that he abruptedly renounced his claim to the company, thereby not taking any ownership over anything business related to the Uchiha Company. It was all because of his love for music, and because of the sudden change of events, the tabloids had been filled to the brim with one question, _What is Itachi Uchiha going to do now?_ Music had been the answer, the only, relatively vague answer he had given out to the public. And as expected from Itachi, record deals made their way to him in tenfold, and his little cousin had only accepted the best offer from the best company in the country, which had been and still was today, Akatsuki Productions.

It was all because of those reasons that the Uchiha family in general didn't particularly have many attachments to Itachi anymore. The only real type of 'friendly' meetings were during very important anniversaries, birthdays, and holidays to where public opinion mattered. All it was was to keep up appearances, otherwise Itachi would probably only send a halfhearted card or note instead of actually showing up.

"I want them to be assured that I'm not in Konoha City," Itachi told him. "I have some business that I have to tend to that I'd rather not have them snooping into."

Then there brought up the worry about snooping from the family. The Uchiha's were famous about keeping tabs with anything or anyone that could eventually ruin them or their reputation, often keeping agents around those who posed the Uchiha Company a threat. If there was a security camera within sight, the family was bound to know whatever was happening at any moment. It certainly didn't assist Itachi, since the family did find him to be a threat. Itachi on the other hand, had _absolutely no intention_ of destroying the company in any shape or form. But that didn't stop the family from fretlessly worrying their little tails off about it.

Shisui rose a brow. "Geez, Little Cuz, now you're making me want to go snooping."

"It's nothing strenuous," Itachi soothed him with wave of his hand. "I'm just going to be overseeing a few things."

Shisui grinned. "If you're going to be _overseeing_ how the progress with Sasuke is going, I wanna join you, because from what Sakura has told me, it's been like a slap in the face so far."

Somehow Itachi surmised instantly that the slap in the face part had been in a literal sense, though the fact surprised him minimally. But all the same, Shisui had his job, and he had his. "That would be unnecessary. You need to see things from the inside with my little brother, as well as the girl's reports. I, on the other hand, am going to take a different approach."

"And that would _be_?"

But Itachi was already getting ready to leave.

"Hey!" Shisui cried, leaping to his feet. "You haven't actually been on the campus, have you?"

Itachi blinked. "What does it matter?"

Now he was really worried. "God above, Itachi, you're going to get caught one of these days, and I'm going to have to pay for it! You do realize that, right?"

"Shisui, what is it that I'm best at?"

The man in question was startled. He fumbled for his words, "Uhh...Umm... Music?"

Itachi shook his head slowly, almost sadly. "No," he answered. "It's simple really, most people wouldn't guess it out of pleasantries, but it's the truth."

Most people wouldn't guess it out of pleasantries? "Umm... Being arrogant?"

He shook his head once more. "It's getting away people."

Then he was out the door, leaving a disgruntled and disheartened Shisui in his wake.

.

Later that same day, Sakura was walking along the hallways to her next class when an egg was suddenly drooling down her hair. A sharp crack was there a moment earlier, but then it was all over her, bright yellow yoke in all.

Chuckling began once more, and Sakura stood there in shock, mouth agape. A chill of disgust swept past her skin, but without a warning, a white vat of flower was poured unceremoniously over her head. The taste of stale flour got caught in her mouth, and she spat at her tormentors. They merely jumped back, but the laughter remained.

_Do they have any idea how many pancakes this could make?_ she thought in disdain. _It's such a waste of resources..._

She had no idea why the sudden idea of pancakes came to mind, but even so, it was just that: a waste.

Sakura growled, "Do you realize just how much this stuff costs for the average person?"

Her tormentors only continued to indulge themselves in their amusement.

"I said, 'Do you realize just how much this stuff costs for the average person?' It's a waste!" she screamed. "All you rich kids take things for granted, It makes me want to pity you really, you'll never understand that things take _work_. It sickens me."

So she spun on her heel and left to find the nearest place to escape.

.

"It _sickens_ her?" Neji repeated incredulously, before he scoffed, "Honestly, this girl is a joke."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Shikamaru interjected. "This girl hasn't even broke yet. All we've done is make her angry."

"Then we'll just have to take it up a notch."

The two looked at the stonewall that was Sasuke Uchiha, face impassive besides pursed lips. _Well, isn't he vividly irritated today?_

"What exactly are you planning?" Neji inquired.

Charcoal eyes drifted from the television screen to meet a pair of pale grey. "Just something a bit creative."

.

Sakura found herself back in the same stairwell she had been in the previous morning. She was alone, she assumed it more than it was assured, but honestly, she didn't really care. Let someone see, let _anyone_ see. Her dignity was about keeping her head held high, whether that meant staying strong while being bullied or by being treated horribly by the F5. She was going to give Sasuke Uchiha a run for his filthy money and she was going to be the longest lasting of all the people he had terrorized. That was a definite.

At the moment she was a mess of flour and eggs. The eggs were already beginning to dry and the flour stuck to her hair like gum. She needed a good shower to get rid of all this stuff.

"Did you think he would go this far?"

The voice was cool and smooth, perfectly toned, and deep, beautifully deep, like a cold ocean trench. But it was also one that was somehow vaguely familiar to her.

Sakura whirled around, only to find that the Angel of Music was silently making his way up to her, and she blushed scarlet once their eyes met. What a lovely pair of charcoal... Almost black in color, and his skin... Ideal porcelain. She swore he was even more handsome up close.

Then she realized that he had asked her a question. She stumbled as she spoke, "Wh-who are y-you talking about?"

His expression was unreadable. "Sasuke Uchiha. Did you think he would go this far?"

"I-I suppose..." she managed, fumbling for the railing behind her. She wanted some sort of hold on reality. "I mean the guy is a total jerk in all, so it's not that much of a shock I suppose. And he's insanely rich, and has perfect looks. Though he does have hair that sticks up like a chicken's ass, but you know it kinda works for him... Right?" _Oh lovely, got past the stumbling stage, Sakura, now you're into babbling like a mindless idiot! Where was all that confidence in front of your tormentors?! At least this guy is curious about your thoughts!_

But instead of staring at her oddly, he chuckled wholeheartedly. _The Angel of Music just chuckled at your babbling Sakura, so don't you dare make a total fool out of yourself again! _She only blushed harder.

"Well I suppose I can agree with you," he told her, giving her a small smile. "But that doesn't mean what he does is right."

"Well of course not!" Sakura agreed almost too enthusiastically. "The guy torments his peers for fun. It's awful, really!"

"It also seems like you've had your fair share of his tormenting."

He gave her a once over and Sakura flushed all over again.

"Here," he said. He pulled out a white handkerchief from his suit's pocket, decorated with black music notes, and began to wipe away at her face. She noted his gentleness in his movements, and felt an fluttering in her heart, warming and calming her. It was a foreign feeling, but a welcome one. Once he was done, he took her hand and place the handkerchief in it, folding her fingers around it. "You need this more than I do."

When he became his trek down the staircase again, she felt frozen as she watched him, but out of nowhere, she called out to him, "Wait!"

"Yes?" He turned slightly.

"Wha... What's your name?" she asked. "How can I repay you?"

"You do not need to repay me," he told her, eyes downcast. "I'm merely doing my part. As for my name..." he paused, but then as he looked up to her, he smiled. "You can call me whatever you wish."

He was several feet from the next landing, nearly out of sight, and her heart was accelerating faster than she could breath.

"Angel!" she cried. "I'll call you Angel!"

She couldn't see that his eyes went wide, that his heart sped up, and that a faded, faded memory had flashed before his eyes. But then the flash was gone, lost into the sands of time once again.

The strange familiarity he felt about Sakura Haruno... Had Itachi met her before all this? Before that day in the clearing when he had been playing his violin? Before Shisui had suggested to him about her possible recruitment into Project Break? Before the suicide attempt of Kankuro Shubaku? Such familiarity... And that faded memory... All he could see was a fuzzy image of pink and green and white, as well as the repeating word, _Angel_.

_What does all this mean?_

"That..." he began, his mind lost into wonder and time. "Is a fine name."

Then he was gone.

.

Sasuke had ordered for a cherry blossom tree to be placed within Uchiha Academy, somewhere special, somewhere it had some actual _meaning_. He had also ordered for the gardening-club to relocate their base of operations to the rooftop of the main building. With the help of some two dozen workers plus the gardening-club students, the work was completed within a three hour time-frame.

The move had caused the space to change drastically. Flowers and trees danced within the breeze, and freshly planted gardens rose with fragrances that spun merrily into his nostrils. The cherry blossom tree was placed right in the dead center of the rooftop, perhaps the most appealing and aesthetic plant on the entire landing. The sight of the gigantic tree nearly took his breath away, but he kept it in, pleased enough to just observe its grace as the wind carried away a few petals in its whispering gusts.

In truth, he was waiting; waiting for a rampaging pinkette to arrive.

Earlier that day, he had utterly trashed the main wing of the Creative Writing Department, which would probably cause him a little bit of trouble with the staff, and perhaps even his father, but only if one thing didn't happen. The only reason he wouldn't get punished would be because of one very simple reason; Sakura Haruno _would_ clean up the mess. He knew she would. He just knew it. To see her lovely Creative Writing Department trashed would only cause her to clean it out of the pure desire to once again resolve the impurity he created. The conclusion was so simple, so easy to figure out.

And of course he happened to be right. He was nearly smirking when he entrance to the roof slammed open with a resounding _smack_. Oh how he just loved being right...

"UUUCHIIIIHAAAA!" Sakura roared, stalking toward him as the newfound rage kicked in. He had messed with one of her best friends, adulterated her favorite book, made her get egg in her hair, and _trashed_ the Creative Writing Department. She had known for a fact that she was going to get into these types of situations, but that certainly did not mean that she couldn't get damn angry for it. When she had found the Creative Writing Department as it was, and right after she had Ino wash out her clothes and clean her hair, she had just exploded.

And there he was, smug and calm and perfect, standing before her, no towering over her more like, with a devious, and dare she admit, sexy smirk plastered onto his face. He reeked of mirth, and Sakura hated every last ounce of it.

"How dare you?!" she roared as she threw a punch to his face. Only instead of landing a hit, the throw itself landed in his palm with lethal grace. "What right do you have to do this to others?"

"Don't you remember what I said, Haruno?" he questioned as she tried again only to miss completely. He took a step toward her.

She smiled despite the frustration. "Do enlighten me then." Her face contorted into battle mode again as she tried to land a hit on him.

"I told you that you're playing with fire. You didn't listen." Another step toward her, another dodge that made her internally scream.

The same process went on repeat, wordless, and each and every time, she failed miserably. This wasn't like yesterday, no, this time, he had the control, the domination, and the energy. While she, despite her best efforts, was beginning to fall apart at the seams, but that didn't mean she was going to give up. Her spirits never faltered, never wavered. She would last until _he_ gave up.

But she hadn't realized until it was too late that she had been cornered, pinned against the tree that was her name. Her hands were above her head, forced together by one of his, while the rest of him covered her, and all too quickly, she was rendered completely immobile.

"You like dominance don't you?" she accused, fuming. "You think you're better than everyone else just because you're rich and from a good family! But really, why do you do this? What good does it do other than to satisfy your need for _dominance_ and _authority_? People with power are suppose to use it responsibly, not flaunt it out for everyone else to see! It's not for people like **you**! You are _heartless_, Sasuke Uchiha, **heartless**! Do you know what _kindness_ is? What _benevolence_ is? Do you even know what _love_ is? Clearly you don't! You nearly got Kankuro Shubaku killed, Sasuke! Do you realize that? I'll say it again, again, and again, Sasuke, you are **heartless**! _**Heartless**_!" Sakura thrashed as she bellowed out her last accusation, seething and panting aggravatedly with exertion.

Now _that_ had wiped the forsaken smirk off his face, and he slammed her against the tree, the hard bark digging into her uniform. Sakura smiled menacingly up at him, the sheer mirth now on her side. She felt like throwing her head back and laughing. She had hit home and apparently she had struck a _very_ finely woven nerve.

"You're going to regret this," he vowed.

Under the cherry blossom tree, with Sakura Haruno and the setting sun painting their figures into sweet honey-nut tint, a feeling lit in his chest. It was a warning, an ache, a concept he didn't yet understand, and little did he know that it would grow like a weed in his heart and ultimately become his undoing.

Burning charcoal eyes glared down at her, hatred and fury encrusted in his normally composed irises. His tall, lean body towered over her petite stature, looming over her none too kindly. He was the dominant figure in this power struggle, but she was not going to let him win without a fight. She would beat him at his own game if she had to, but she wasn't going to fall easily even if she did end up being defeated. But then again, she never lost when it came to a battle of wills.

She had just made the biggest enemy in the entire school, and she knew it. No, scratch that... In the entire city. No one rose above him, no one could beat him, and no one certainly dared to defy him. But she would do all of those things by the end of the war. Hell, she had already done one of those things by defying his merciless tactics of intimidation and tormenting.

She held her head high, a sweetly seductive smile etched arrogantly onto her lips. "No," she told him. "You are."

Thus began the battle of strength in the world renown Uchiha Academy. One beautiful blossom had challenged the great leader of the Flowers Five, but she wasn't alone, she had her own army to back her up.

After that day, everything changed for the Flowers Five.

This was about how, Sasuke Uchiha, a wealthy heir had fallen irrevocably in love with a fiery and stubborn high school student named, Sakura Haruno.

This was their story.

.

.

.

******Boys Over Flowers**

**Updated: Monday, September 15th, 2014**

**Author's Note:**

_Well hello there poppets! This chapter got soooo long... It's making my eyes red... I'm just glad it's over! *extreme sigh of extreme relief* Now I can go off into the land of dreams... Well goodnight_

_Chapter title is "Blue Flower" by Various Artists. Chose this one because of Hinata ;)_

_Next chapter Sakura is forced to go to Sasuke's mansion! Remember that in the Korean Drama?! Sooooooo excited to write that!_

_Also I apologize for Sakura's extreme anger issues, but really, can you imagine her acting any other way in these situations toward a guy she hates? Also as of the question of Temari and Kankuro/Hinata and Neji not knowing each other, this will be resolved in time, I promise!_

_Anyway, please review! They're like little boxes of chocolate for me!_

_I'll update within two-weeks to a month..._

_Ja-ne!_

_**-Cassandra**_


	4. Unlock

_**Boys Over Flowers**_ _**Summary:**_

_Based upon the beloved Korean Drama of the same name, Boys Over Flowers features Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha as you've never seen them before as our lovely pinkette is unwittingly forced into attending a prestigious academy for the rich and famous after she saves one of their students from sudden demise. Set in modern Konoha City you'll see Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, and Sai as the Flowers Five, the hottest, most wealthy, and popular men in the entire city and as they rule over Uchiha Academy with an iron fist. But everything changes when Sakura Haruno arrives and challenges them to a power struggle of wills, ultimately and unknowingly claiming the heart of their cold, impassive, and cruel leader, Sasuke Uchiha. While Sakura, on the other hand, hates his guts. With dramatic plot-lines, thawing characters, a little music, and a lot of wealth, we'll take you and a journey of money, power, friendship, romance, and first loves that will last a lifetime. Boys. Over. Flowers. Any day... Or everyday?_

_SasuSaku._

* * *

**~Boys Over Flowers~**

**Part 1: "Project Break"**

**Chapter 4**

**~Unlock~**

Ino gasped, appalled, horrified, and downright shocked. Her perfect mouth was set agape, wide open, and her jaw probably would've hit the floor had that been mechanically feasible. Her eyes were like saucers, unblinking as she scanned the document, making sure to memorize every last line as quickly as her mind could process the information. She speed-read through the entire document, faster than she had ever read before. It was the burning curiosity that she was left with after every word that made her internally scrambling for the next. Never before had she been so enraptured by the pure magic of the words.

She ended up rereading it twice though before she knew it was true.

Even when she was done, she sat back in her chair in utter disbelief, the knowledge slowly sinking in. What she had read... She never, not in her most wild of dreams would have expected such an affair to ever occur, least of all at Uchiha Academy.

This was some serious gossip, and it was all over the internet for everyone, everywhere to see.

"That poor, poor girl," Ino whispered. She was slowly spinning around in her room's swivel chair as she sighed.

A girl at Uchiha Academy was pregnant.

Under the alias of Miss B.

Several days past before the identity was revealed just before the school-day began.

Only it turned out to be Sakura.

.

"No, no, no, and _no_," he denied, shaking his head after each word. "You are absolutely not attending class today, Love. I absolutely forbid it."

Sakura frowned at the Uchiha in annoyance. "There's nothing to be done to reverse this, Shisui, and just staying home isn't going to remedy this problem either."

"But, Lovvvvvveeeee!" he pouted, slouching enough to nearly descend down to her height. He was worried, and she was slightly glad for the support to keep her positive throughout this situation, but it was as she had said, there was simply nothing to be done. Well, other than to go to school with her head held high and give Sasuke Uchiha a good butt-whooping with a lecture that she would make sure stuck in his head for the rest of eternity. Because, to be completely honest, this attack was probably the most horrid thing Sasuke had come up with yet.

The previous two days had involved a lot of running between classes, far more than she had done in recent months. Between evading the group of boys that the F5 had sent after her to apparently fight her, and escaping egg-droppings by ducking and covering every second, she was physically tired. Mentally she was ready for anything, but physically she was in some desperate need for a good week of recuperation. On several occasions she had considered just taking her classes online, but she knew for a fact that she would not be safe at home while she was alone. Who knew what creeps Sasuke Uchiha had sent to roam to the streets for her. The thought sent her mind reeling in disgust.

"I'm going to school today, Shisui," Sakura told him firmly. "And that's final."

He looked at her, despondent and uneasy, but nodded gloomily in acceptance. This day was not going to be easy, she knew, but there was simply nothing to be done.

Good things came to those who wait, after all.

She hoped anyway.

.

"Wow," one girl breathed, "She actually came to school."

"I wonder who the dad is..."

"I bet she'll get an abortion or something."

"The Wondergirl's tainted now."

Sakura wanted to rage, terribly, terribly so. She knew her temper... Eventually her composure was going to decrease every second until she snapped in two, the frustration and the lies were going to be drive her over the edge by the middle of the day. She was going to snap, it wasn't even a prediction, it was definite, and it was all a matter of time.

Hinata placed a hand on her shoulder as the whispers got louder. "It'll all get better, Sakura," she said with a sad smile on her face. "Until then, just breath."

She hadn't realized just how tense she had been until Hinata had spoken to her.

"You'll always have us to help you out, Forehead," Ino said with a friendly wink, hooking her arm through hers. From a step ahead, Tenten smiled at her and Temari nodded in agreement.

"You guys..." Sakura whispered, suddenly overcome with emotion. She felt a burning sensation on the back of her eyes, but quickly swallowed the emotions, and smiled through it. "I love you all."

"Oh, what's this?" Tenten, turned on her heels and walked backwards with a grin. "Our Sakura's on the verge of tears!"

A chuckle came from her mouth, and she nodded as she feigned annoyance, "This is what you guys do to me!"

They laughed all the way into the school-building, savoring the happy moment for however long it lasted.

.

"We need to separate her from her friends," Sasuke decided aloud.

"Honestly, Teme, why are you still going at this?" Naruto asked from his spot on the couch, limbs cascaded in various directions while he stole a glance at his best friend. "It's been like a week, and nothing has changed other than the campus going into utter chaos. Usually this lasts two days, three at best, but it's been a _week_."

"Are you saying to just let her win?" Sasuke countered, the becomings of lethal anger formulating.

Naruto decided to take precaution in his next words, "I-uh-no... It's just that... That... That you should do something so big that she'd run away this time, and for good!"

Despite his words, the truth lied elsewhere inside his heart, in a place that just wanted to burst and just say no for once, instead of acting like this entire situation didn't bother him. Then the reality was that this situation did in fact bother him. He was sick of Sasuke's tranny within Uchiha Academy; it just didn't sit well with him. While he did engross himself in the pleasures that were brought upon him because of his membership within the F5, that certainly did not mean that he particularly enjoyed tormenting students that supposedly posed a threat to them. In his opinion, it was pointless. No one dared to wage a full on power war with them, everyone was too scared of the consequences to even propose such an option, well until Sakura Haruno suddenly appeared out of no where and saved Kankuro Shubaku and became the famous Wondergirl.

He couldn't deny that he wished for her to beat Sasuke at his own game, at least not inwardly. Sasuke deserved a slap in the face to wake him up from his world of ruthlessness and cruelty. In truth, he could hardly manage to stand his best friend anymore. Everyday he became more cold, more angry, more heartless, and he didn't understand what the problem was exactly! Sure he had a lot on his plate, being the heir of the Uchiha Company in all, but Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that it was more than just his eventual ascendence. It was as if it went deeper than just business relations, and was something very personal.

He was also slightly curious about Shikamaru's abrupt detachment to their tormenting. Usually he gave insight and ideas to combat the resistance the students put up, but this time was different. This time he sat on the sidelines and merely observed from a distance, speculating and determining, but never giving any answers to defeat Sakura once and for all. Naruto couldn't tell whether or not he was just stumped or unwilling. It was puzzling. Did Shikamaru side with Sakura Haruno like he had?

Sasuke searched his eyes before gave him a distasteful, "Hn."

After that, Naruto got up feeling weary and restless. He didn't like keeping secrets from Sasuke, but right now it was necessary. Sakura had to win, maybe that would change his ways, make him a better person, and not make him look down on people so much.

Sakura Haruno seemed like the only person able to change Sasuke, and he was positive that she could do it. He grinned to himself. She was Wondergirl, what couldn't she do?

.

It wasn't even lunchtime when she shattered into a billion pieces, no, it was the moment she got close to her desk during her first class of the day.

Everywhere, words, words, words, wretched, and deranged words that scraped at her heart. And books, torn, beaten, and soaked books that looked like mold was forming on them, all of which had titles about pregnancy.

"Oh," one girl cooed. "Is she crying?"

The class burst into a fit of amused giggles at that claim.

She wasn't, but her hair covered her eyes from view as she picked up one of the dissolving books. The cover was damp and warm, ripping apart at the seams, while the pages were inky and the words scrambled along the paper were soaked out of the pages.

They hadn't known she had gone murderously quiet. They thought she had finally given in, huh? She desired nothing more than to scoff at that. She wasn't through with Sasuke Uchiha yet. She was going to break him; break him. Only then would she turn in her withdrawal letter from Uchiha Academy and never give a disheartened glance back. She would be grinning widely when that day came, but until then she was going to tough it out, and combat the terrors the F5 setup for her. That was her task and she was going to succeed.

Sakura threw the book to the floor, earning her an echoing slap as she glared at the girl who had dared to cooe at her so tauntingly. "Where's Sasuke Uchiha?" she demanded, and the class suddenly became hauntingly silent. She scowled. "_Where's_ Sasuke Uchiha?" she demanded again and the girl flinched back. "Tell me!"

.

"Sasuke!" she roared, stomping none-too-gracefully into the F5 Clubhouse with a small stack of molded books at her side. Sakura was murderous this time, and the boys in the room all shot her bewildered glances of varying degrees. Even Sasuke threw her a quirked brow, clearly not expecting her to get past the guards outside. Oh she could do much more than just get past a few high-school boys blocking a door, that much had been a simple quest.

She stalked towards the leader, glaring at him with a certain rage that could only be conjured by his idiotic, harassment tactics, and presumed to abruptly dump the heap of books she had been holding onto the coffee table before him. Several crashes ensued but Sakura refused to allow her eye-contact with Sasuke to break for even a second. She wanted him to know that she was far stronger than he gave her credit for.

Once silence settled upon the room, Sasuke let his unimpressed gaze slowly slide to the number of books she had threw to the table before him. It was only a moment, but then he looked back up at her, impervious.

"Done?" he inquired distastefully.

Sakura pursed her lips, the extent of her unending rage towards him causing her to begin to tremble so slightly in malevolence. She wanted to see nothing more than his head on a spike, but sadly she wasn't in the Middle Ages anymore, nor would she probably be in a position of power to where she could demand such an execution even if she was. The thought was enough to tighten her jaw.

"Not just yet," she hissed through clenched teeth. Then she took a breath, a readying one, to prepare herself for her the onslaught she would create, and then pointed at him accusingly. "You!" she burst, startling the other boys in the room with her sudden raucousness. Then her brows knitted together, and her index finger wavered accordingly. "How dare you do this? How dare you to do this? To taint the pure... It's adultery, Uchiha, adultery, do you understand? Purity is everything to a girl; may I repeat, everything. Do you understand? To contaminate the genuine light into absolute darkness... It's not something that's so easily venial."

A painful silence engulfed the area, tense and serious, and the boys in the room were clearly bewildered and astonished by her dramatic and desperate accusation towards Sasuke.

The man that was accused however, had eyes were boring into hers, contempt pooling around him in an grim aura. She had chosen her words purposefully, to try and deceive his companions. After all, she knew at least one was partially on her side. Only she didn't even spare the omniscient genius of the F5 a knowing glance. He was probably the only one that had fully read her words, and she liked it that way.

"Sasuke..." It was Naruto that had spoken so unbelievingly horrified, shattering the tense silence that had surrounded the clubhouse. "What the hell did you do?"

Nothing, he thought. Nothing. He had done nothing to deserve those artificized words. The girl was clever. She had generated perplexion in Naruto, and possibly others as well. Those sickly seductive and deceiving words that had rolled off her tongue had caused Naruto to question his methods. Not even he would stoop so low as to literally do something like that to her, but to exploit a falsehood into the public eye was something he was very capable of doing without regret. The literal and the figurative were two very separate things, but they can be well disguised as the other. And that was something he was very good at.

"So you can lie," Sasuke surmised, suppressing his contempt behind closed doors. "I can't say I expected that from Konoha City's heroic Wondergirl."

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and whatever desperation on her face was removed with utter seriousness. She'd been caught red handed, but that had been expected. She'd done that just to change the atmosphere of the room, however while lying wasn't exactly what she had committed, the feeling of shame still dwelled within her chest. Such affairs weren't usually her method of choice.

"I-It was a lie?" Naruto sputtered.

The word alone was enough to cause her to shift from foot to foot. A meaningless gesture for the average person, but it was possible that a few in the room had noticed her discomfort to the term, lie.

"It was," Sasuke said.

"It wasn't," Sakura countered quickly, snapping her gaze to meet Naruto's to ensure his faith in her words. "Your friend did in fact contaminate something of meaningful importance to me." She turned back to Sasuke. "My purity is in question by the entire student body. Not only has that falsehood been spread all over the school, it also happens to be plastered on websites for the entire world to see. My reputation, my honor, my integrity, and most of all, my _purity_ happen to be in question. None of which have truthfully fallen from grace."

"Then..." Neji interrupted. "What exactly is your intention with coming here, Haruno?"

The intention? Of attending Uchiha Academy? The intention of that was to eventually break Sasuke. As for coming to the clubhouse, well, that was for a very simple reason... She was going to befuddle the very man who had caused her distress, in a very cunning and backhanded fashion at that. And the thought had her swimming with inward mirth.

Sakura didn't break eye-contact with Sasuke as she smiled sweetly enough for it to be evil. "You know, _Sasuke_," the way it rolled off her tongue was like silk. "I really don't know what you expect to accomplish with this. I'm not going to just give up. I have would assumed that you would've understood that by now, but since you went out and did something this immature, I can only assume that you have something else driving you to try and break my spirits." Her emerald irises sparkled with satisfaction and cat-like mischief as she paused for dramatic effect. Lastly, she cocked her head to the side cutely, her lengthy pink tresses falling over her shoulder, and she innocently twirled a strand of hair between her fingers. "Are you in love with me or something?"

Sasuke stared at the girl with slightly widened, his composure shattered into cracked shards and sprinkled dust. His posture went slack, his mouth agape, and he couldn't even form a comprehensible word from his tongue. the utter shock transforming into dread and embarrassment at her inquiry. For the first time in his life, he was rendered a sputtering mess. All at the hands of a pink-haired girl.

Sakura leaned towards him then, and he quickly sat back in the chair he was sitting in, retreating from her advances. And she smirked. "Should I take that as a yes?"

Then a loud burst of laughter in rang in her ears, and her smirk widened as she went upright once more, a hip popped to the side as she watched the leader of the F5 with complete satisfaction and amusement. Chuckles rang all around the room with her act. She had done exactly what she had set out to do.

She... She had done this on purpose. She... She had dared to make a fool of him! He was about to erupt from his chair and slam her into a wall but her next words, her next serious and melancholy words, stopped him completely, "This is what happens when you mess with an innocent virgin who's never even had her first kiss. It's sick, and twisted, and wrong. I really hope you learned your lesson this time by being the one who's backed into a corner and unable to escape."

Her face had been serene, relatively unemotional, and simply genuine, pure. It was a look that he hadn't witnessed first hand in many years, and it caused him to stop all motion and just observe as she gracefully departed the clubhouse without a glance back. It had formed a yearning in his chest, one that he had never before had felt in his lifetime. One that he knew meant something unusual and uncharted.

It was a feeling of things to come.

.

_Several Hours Later._

Sasuke was smirking to himself. It was insidious, diabolical, and evil. It was a smile hidden by cunning plans and eventual outcomes. It was the closest thing to a smile he had conjured in years, and it felt lovely. To say that he was sated was an understatement. He was overjoyed with the feeling of self-satisfaction to the point where it gave him an ache in his chest. The idea he had in mind... What he had figured out... It made him want to chuckle. _Him_, Sasuke Uchiha wanted to _chuckle_.

"Hoooo," Naruto sang as he watched his best friend. "What has you so happy for, Teme?"

Sai had a fake smile on his face, though there was a hint of hidden amusement in his tone, "Has he finally gone off his rocker?"

He grinned. "That just might be it!"

Neji observed Sasuke with an expressionless mask. Inwardly he was cringing with mortification, silently agreeing with the idiots. What was he practically grinning for? It was uncharacteristic and a bit, dare he admit, _creepy_.

"That," Sasuke began. "Would be for one very special reason."

"And that reason would be?" Neji questioned softly.

At that, Sasuke did in fact, chuckle. It was only for a moment, but it was enough for the members in the room to have various bewildered reactions. They were all also asking the same question, had Sasuke actually gone crazy? Even Shikamaru had shot up from the very comfy couch upon the hearing the sound.

"What the hell?" Shikamaru whispered.

"Teme..." Naruto mumbled, feeling like a stone and unable to move.

"What could he possibly be thinking?" Neji hissed to himself.

"Did you seriously just do that?" Sai asked aloud, perturbed.

After that, Sasuke flashed his signature smirk to his fellow F5 members. It made the member's hearts' want to stop in horrification. It was a promise, a terrifying vow of inevitable insanity and madness, and it scared the living daylights out of everyone in the room. It was a smirk they hadn't seen first hand in years. It was _scary_. "Sakura Haruno is in love with me."

Dead, awkward, shocked, intense, and a very disturbing silence settled in the clubhouse.

Shikamaru blinked in confusion, disbelieving to the reality before him.

Naruto's jaw dropped to the floor.

Neji's perfect composure snapped in half, his brows raised significantly.

Sai just smiled knowingly. He had been correct! He was officially insane!

"Sasuke," Neji began slowly, gently even. "Might I ask... How you came to that conclusion?"

"Isn't It obvious?" Sasuke asked, then turned to the Casanovas in the room, Sai and Naruto. "You two both know well enough that when a girl says no, she really means yes."

The boys in question stared at one another in astonishment. That... Wasn't exactly... It just... It just didn't count for this situation. It just _didn't_. Sakura Haruno was an exception to that scenario. She was different than other girls, and she had meant every single word she had challenged Sasuke with.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, and Sai looked away. Neither really knew how to explain this to Sasuke though, who was still swimming with mirth.

It was Shikamaru that had recovered from the shock first. While had certainly hadn't expected Sasuke to conclude such a wrong outcome, he also knew that he hadn't been in the most stable of mental states recently after Sakura had shown up. He'd never seen Sasuke so vexed by someone before. So easily irritated, and embarrassed, even more than usual. Sakura caused his emotions to flair uncontrollably and it was the same for Sasuke. The two caused each other to snap so quickly. It was uncanny. And it was because of the sudden fluxes and drops of emotion that an idea came to mind, one so unbelievably insane and unlikely that he had to truly think it through before he determined the possibility.

Sasuke was going to fall in love with Sakura. The mere thought would've made him scoff a few days ago, but now... After what he had just seen... It wasn't so unlikely as it had been before. It worried him as much as it soothed him. To bring peace back into Uchiha Academy and thaw-out that frozen heart of his would cause major alterations for everyone, all of which would be positive. There wasn't a single negative that would result... Only that was... That was if, and only, if Sakura ever felt the same way. Otherwise everything would fall apart at the seams.

"I think you might be right."

The mere statement had caused the four members, excluding Sasuke, to snap their heads in Shikamaru's direction. They probably thought he might be following in Sasuke's mad path to Wonderland, but the words he had spoken were false. They were to lead their leader to pursue the pinkette, and perhaps bring about a time of peace and prosperity. It was a time he wished desperately for. While this war with Sakura was interesting, it wasn't something that he wanted to last forever.

"And I might have an idea to shape what exactly you have in mind."

"Explain," Sasuke ordered. Apparently Shikamaru had read his mind.

"You said before that you needed a way to separate her from her friends," he reiterated, completely business-like and apathetic. "I know a way to do just that." _And get my plan into action at the same time. _

.

The following day Sakura and her friends separated for their classes just like any other day, however they had no idea that being separated meant something far more significant than any other day. It meant Shikamaru's plan would go into effect.

As Sakura was ascending the steps to get to the Creative Writing Department, a man that was decked out in a black suit, black glasses, and a bluetooth on his ear appeared before her. His glasses veiled his gaze, but she more than suspected that he was glaring right at her. She could feel the aura that came off him too, and it wasn't good. She tensed instantly, ready to escape if necessary, only the option became more difficult to accomplish when several more men surrounded her.

She threw a grim glance behind her to ascertain her suspicion. Indeed, she was surrounded. Lovely. She really hadn't wanted to get violent today... But apparently that wasn't meant to be.

Sakura sighed tiredly, "Really, what does Sasuke want this time?"

"Come with us, Miss."

She decided to indulge herself a little bit. "No 'please'?"

"Would you _please_ come with us, Miss?"

Sakura gave him a look of annoyance. "Tell me where you're going to take me, and I just might go with you willingly."

He pursed his lips. "That information is private until determined appropriate."

She clicked her tongue. "Then I refuse."

Then she was running. She was rather lucky that class had yet to start since she could merge into the crowd, but she knew that there wasn't a single person on this side of the campus that would be willing to cooperate and assist in her escape from those men. As she ran, she shakily plucked her phone from her backpack. She quickly scrolled through her contacts, looking up and down from the screen as she ran. When she found the name Shisui Uchiha, she breathed graciously, and tapped his number so it would dial.

"You better answer your phone," Sakura threatened to the air around her.

_Ring._

_Ring..._

"Pick up!" she hissed.

_Ring._

_Ring._

_Ring..._

_"Love?"_ a very familiar voice that nearly made her sag with relief answered.

"Shisui! Thank the lord that you answered!"

_"Is something wrong, Love? You seem rather panicked._" He was worried, rightfully so.

She stole a glance behind her, she could see them in the distance. Her heart sped up. "People are chasing me, wearing black suits. I'm assuming Sasuke sent them, but I doubt I'm going to be able to outrun them for long."

_"What?!"_ he bellowed into the phone, making her flinch. _"Oh God, Love! What should I do? What to do...? Please tell me you have a plan!"_

"Uhh, running is my plan, Shisui. I was hoping you could help me with the rest!"

_"Love, I can only do so much! Getting you away from something like this isn't exactly something I can do! God, Sakura. I'm so sorry!"_

A spark of anger rushed through her. "Forget the apologies!" she snapped. "Do you have any idea as to where they would be taking me?"

_"Ah... Ummm... Uhhh... I-I suppose it's possible they'll take you to the Uchiha Manor or the company headquarters, but I can't be sure. "_

"Ugh, Shisui!" she groaned. "Can you help me in any way right now?"

Suddenly he gasped. _"Oh, Love! I have an idea that might work! The Uchiha Mainframe at headquarters has the best hacking technology in the country! I bet I could find you based on security footage! It'll take some time, but I promise that I'll find you. Besides, Sasuke is not going to harm you physically... At least I would assume he wouldn't. You're going to have to wait just a bit until I can find you."_

"Well that's almost reassuring..." she muttered loud enough so he could hear it.

_"Trust me, Love. I've got your back." _She could imagine his smile as he spoke, and it warmed her heart.

"Thank you, Shisui. I trust you."

So she stopped in her tracks and waited for them to strike, because then she would fight back with all she had. She let all her anger, her hatred, her stress, her sadness, her frustration into her attacks against them, but she knew that in the end it would be fruitless. And it was. So as she was swallowed but unconsciousness, by a hand covering her mouth with a cotton cloth, she breathed in the vile taste of something that left her defenseless.

Then the world was painted into a endless expanse of darkness.

.

Sakura awoke to a rather pleasant feeling. It was a soothing sensation, with just a touch of comforting, cool wetness. It was also a rubbing feeling, that smoothed something down. She could barely tell, being at the very edge of consciousness and unconsciousness. It was a titering border that she could fall onto either side without much trouble. That was, however, until very painful feeling caused that border to collapse without a second thought.

Her eyes snapped open, wide, until blinding light assaulted her sight. She blinked, groaning, and found that tears were in her eyes from the sudden burst of pain. It was a ripping sensation that... Involved hair.

The fear of the unknown that crashed into her head made her eyes open once more, and for her body to struggle to regain movement of her limbs. But alas, she was unable to move without pulling against... Against restraints? It felt like leather.

What the hell was going on?

"Calm down, Miss Haruno, unlike what you believe you're not in some torture chamber." The amused voice was masculine, and a fearful wariness consumed the feeling in her chest.

Soon she was able to see the area around her, which she was a very thankful for... But the sight before her was a bit odd. She was being massaged, and... Waxed. Ugh. But the only people that were around her were women. Who had previously spoken?

"What the hell is going on?" she hissed to whomever wanted to answer her.

That same voice chuckled. Where was it coming from?

"You'll find out soon enough."

Because that was _so_ helpful.

Then that ripping sensation came back, and Sakura swallowed a scream.

Not a torture chamber, huh? What the hell did he know?

.

About a half-hour later, Sakura found herself at the hands of stylists and hairdressers who spoke animatedly about her unbelievably natural pink hair and beautiful, porcelain white skin. After a while, she even began to become a little bashful with the constant compliments that bombarded her ears. She had even blushed after hearing several of them.

So she reluctantly allowed for them to curl her hair into perfect little ringlets all the way down her waist, and to adorn her face with products she had never even dared to use before. She had never really been much for makeup and dressing up. It had just never really fit in with her personality. She had always preferred her natural look to placing excessive heaps of unnecessary powders or lotions on her face. People had often asked her though what she used to look so cute, but she would blush and reply that she didn't use anything and that she was natural.

Then once her hair and makeup was considered _fantastic_, she was hauled off to the fashion-stylist and thrust into a corridor, a corridor of vibrantly colored dresses of varying styles and tradition. All around her, gowns were displayed around her line of vision, her eyes scanning meticulously over nearly every single dress that caught her attention. Finally settling for a gown that both the stylist and herself considered _worthy_, she was dressed by several attendants before a trifold-mirror.

Despite her inward turmoil, she felt like a princess. Her heart was torn between her storybook fantasies side and her war-like personality with Sasuke. She almost didn't know how to react, whether it was how she _wanted_, or how she _should_. The answer was undecided, but she didn't allow herself to neither fully enjoy nor fully loath the situation.

It wasn't until she was fully clothed that the door to the room opened, revealing a man she had never seen before. He was wearying an ebony tuxedo with matching pants, and satin white gloves. His ebony shoes were shining from the sun glinting off them, and a golden pocket-watch of all things, happened to be dangling from his trousers' pocket. Only it was his face that made her inwardly curious. He had disheveled silvery hair, and a white headband to hide one of his eyes, but the strangest thing was that below his eyes, a white mask of sorts, covered his mouth. Sakura had to force herself not to outright gawk at the man. He was a cross between a ninja and a englishmen from the eighteen-hundreds, and the sheer thought confounded her. There was something else too, while one hand was tucked leisurely into a pocket, another held a pair of translucent _glass_ slippers that glittered merrily in the light.

It was that very image that made her gawk at him. What... The... Hell...

"I suppose I should start explaining," the man said with a sigh. Then he gestured to the couch next to the window. "Sit."

Reluctant and wary, she did, gracefully placing herself down.

He kneeled before her, and gently began to place the slippers on her feet. She swore... She felt like Cinderella seated before the Grand Duke right before her happy ending. It was an odd sensation of butterflies and dread. Butterflies for the fantasy, dread for the unexplained situation before her.

She could only hope that Shisui would find her soon...

"My name is Kakashi Hatake, the butler of this manor," he began. "As to why you're here, well I'm sorry to say that it's not entirely my place to say. The-" he paused, and a look of contempt and sorrow crossed his face before it vanished. "The _Young Master_ of this manor brought you here today. Though, I'm assuming, that it was against your will."

"Why has Sasuke brought me here?"

The masked butler's gaze traveled to hers, unblinking and expressionless. "I'm under strict orders to not speak of the reasons. But I was ordered to bring you to him once the alterations were complete."

"Then please." Sakura nodded to the door.

She swore he smiled from under his mask as he stood. "Right this way, Miss Haruno. Right this way."

.

"Mr. Hatake were you the one to laugh at me earlier?" Sakura inquired curiously.

They were leisurely gliding down the grand corridors of the Uchiha Manor, sometimes engaging small-talk as they did so.

His lone eye closed, and the corners crinkled. Another smile she assumed? "Please, just call me Kakashi, Miss Haruno. As for your question, yes, I was. I was behind a curtain, speaking with one of the attendants about how the progress was coming along."

"Oh," was all she said in reply. Then she remembered something, and smiled gracefully. "And please, just call me, Sakura."

He nodded, the smile still intact, before he opened a door for her. "I believe this is where we separate. It was good meeting you, Sakura. Until another time."

When she wandered into the next room, the door was silently closed behind her. What was laid out before her was what seemed like an office, a very large office. Three of the four walls were encompassed in ceiling-high shelves, all filled with leather bound books. The tomes themselves were orderly and relatively old based on the amount of dust that had accumulated around and in between the tomes, which was strange considering how extravagant and aesthetic rest the manor was. Was this specific room sectioned off in some way, perhaps? She wondered. The lighting in the room was dim, with a few lone lamps over side-tables that sat beside two facing couches. There was also a desk opposite the door with the far wall behind it covered with drawn curtains, while minimal light escaped from the very tips of the bottom fringe.

Only that hadn't been the only thing that had struck her attention. A tall man was standing before the windows, gazing out at the world beyond from a small crack in the curtains. His ebony hair stuck up at odd angles, yet it was elegantly parted. He wore a black suit with matching trousers, and a golden watch glinted on his wrist from a sparring glance of sunlight. His posture was calm and soothed, as if perfectly at ease, and the sheathed hands only ensured her belief.

This man... So many thoughts went through her head at the sight of him. Half of which were utter exasperation and irritation.

"Sasuke, why is it that you brought me here?"

The question wasn't answered immediately, but he did turn to face her. His expression was so impassive, so unreadable. She didn't have a clue what he had in mind. He did give her a once-over though, probably inspecting his work.

"Come," he said.

Sakura frowned at in annoyance. "You do realize this is kidnaping, right?"

Instead of answering as she had desperately hoped for, he began to stride toward her, until he was close enough to grab her arm and thus began to drag her to the back of the room kicking and screaming. "Hey! Let me go right this ins-"

"Look."

Before Sakura could complete her rant, he had given her a full view of the job that had been done to her. In the hours before, she hadn't really taken a detailed observation of the work that had been done, but the finished product was enough to abruptly end her frustrations. Her tensed shoulders dropped, and the previous anger that had built itself up in her was released as a feeling of wonder enveloped her heart.

Her lengthy pink tresses were curly and the personification of urbane. Her skin was a milky porcelain, only every so slightly dusted with a rosy blush on her cheeks. Her eyes were larger than usual with the ends of mascara on the tips of her lashes, who themselves were a deep and dark obsidian. Even her emerald eyes seemed to sparkle inhumanly with light and vivid greens. Then her dress... It was a pure white, sleeveless and descended down to her knees in fluffy ruffles. And her shoes were the same Cinderella style as before, but equally as beautiful as the rest of the ensemble. She had never seen herself look so different...

"Even an ugly duckling can become a swan with the right changes," Sasuke admitted as their eyes connected in the mirror.

Sakura shook herself from her daze after that statement, and tore herself away from him. There was no need to fall into a fantasy that never existed in the first place. "That still doesn't change what you did."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "You should be thanking me."

"'Thank you'?" she repeated. "You freaking kidnapped me, Sasuke! That's a federal crime!"

"Cut the act and admit it already."

"Admit what, might I ask?"

"That you like me."

Sakura was taken aback, incredulous. "Excuse me?"

Sasuke took a step forward, backing her against the mirror. The metal felt cold on her exposed shoulders. "Just admit it and I'll give you some leeway from all this." Then for some God forsaken reason, he smirked. "I might even allow you to be my secret girlfriend while you look like this, since after all, you went through so much trouble to get to me."

Sakura blinked a few times just to fully understand what he had just said. "You really are crazy aren't you?"

The smirk vanished. "Enough with the denial."

"You honestly think I'm in denial?" She laughed humorlessly. "I _hate_ you, Sasuke Uchiha. You and all your filthy money. You are everything that I've said since I transferred to your family's prestigious academy. You are a supercilious, egotistic, rotten, child, and a person whom I really wish I had never had the pleasure of meeting. Do you understand that now? "

He took a step back, seemingly composed besides the hard clench in his jaw. "Do you realize how much money was invested into you today, Haruno?"

The question threw her off guard.

"It was well over ten grand."

Sakura had to force herself not to faint. She didn't even have that much in her personal bank-account. "I-I didn't ask for this!" she told him. "It-It's your fault for taking me here and kidnapping me!"

"Most people would've been delighted for such an opportunity to indulge themselves."

She stopped and stared at him. The way he had said it... There had been a hidden emotion behind the words. It was as if it wasn't narcissism, but, somehow, in some way, loneliness. It was as if this trick had been tried before and had worked to his advantage. She couldn't fully convey it.

But instead of working off that idea, she went down another path. "You can't buy people, you do realize that, right?"

That arrogant glint in his eyes told her that he could argue differently. "There isn't a single thing that money can't buy."

She glared at him. "You can't _buy_ love, Sasuke. You can't _buy_ friendship. You can't _buy_ family. You can't _buy_ the basic pleasures in life; it just doesn't work that way." She paused to see his reaction. His hands were clenched tightly in his pockets if the knuckle indents were enough to show for it. "Otherwise its just all a farce... A meaningless farce that isn't able to satisfy anyone involved, especially the person that had tried to obtain it."

Sasuke had begun to shake, whether in rage or in frustration, she wasn't sure, but she knew she had again struck a very finely woven nerve, one she was probably going to regret. Then his face contorted into a horrible scowl. "What the hell do you know?" he bit out venomously. "You know nothing!"

Her eyes widened at his tone, at his actions, but she was barely given a thought to process the next few seconds, as he was suddenly backing her against one of the bookcases, explosively interrogating her. "What right do you have to question me? What right do you have to belittle me?"

Then he slammed her against one of the bookcases, and he punched one of the leather books right above her head, rendering her immobile. He had trapped her in his own little own hell. His eyes were unlike anything she had ever seen before. So open, so terrified, so wretched, so bitter, so twisted, so tormented, so... So lonely. The sight tore at her heart, and the soft-hearted half of her heart won over. Sakura's brows knitted together.

"You know absolutely nothing about me! How dare you come into my life and upturn everything I know? How dare you do this to me?" He was shaking her now, their gazes connecting but never understanding. "Why are you taking a stand against me? Why-God dammit! Why?!"

His eyes closed in grievance, for possibly every stress that had always been but never freed.

Sakura had never seen someone so tormented... So at odds with themselves. What had happened to him in his past? It was as if everything was finally settling on his shoulders from past events, and she had finally cracked that barrier from tolerance to intolerance once and for all.

But really, wasn't it also the way to finally acknowledge its existence and move forward?

"How dare you, Sakura Haruno?" he seethed. "How dare you?"

She took a breath to prepare and then she did something she had never done before.

"Sasuke," she began softly, placing her palms on his cheeks so he would finally just look at her and come to his senses. "Enough of this. You know why I did everything I did. It was end the torment the students received from your hands. It needs to stop, and you need to move forward from whatever is tormenting you so much, otherwise its never going to end. Do you understand?"

Sasuke's cheeks were warm and smooth, exactly as she had expected, but when his charcoal eyes were unveiled they glared down at her mercilessly. So she hadn't broken through. For a moment, sadness swelled, but an instant later a feeling of spite overcame the sadness. She pursed her lips and let her hands fall to her sides. Fine, let him wallow and suffer. This wasn't her battle to fight in anyway.

So she pushed him away, resentful to the proximity. "I would like to have my uniform back, please. And to leave as soon as possible." She began extracting any extra nondescript jewelry from her person, before letting it fall to the floor in a sparkling mass.

Sasuke was silent, and a fire erupted from inside. "Get it for me!"

.

Sakura exited the Uchiha Manor safe and dressed in her uniform, literally racing out of the area only to realize that she was still wearing the slippers and quickly remove them. She had already contacted Shisui who had apparently been going through the files at the Uchiha Company Headquarters, only to find that every film that had involved her in the last week had been erased for unknown reasons and by anonymous persons. He had been very relieved to know she was fine, but she had refused to expel any of the details until she got home. She had also told him to allow her to walk home and simply think everything through. She was tired, and wanted to just think. The luxury was practically necessary with how emotionally exhausted she felt.

Sasuke... Ugh... She almost didn't know what to think about him anymore. She could only hope that he would remain a pompous jerk so she didn't have to pity him like she had a few minutes prior.

"I can't believe that I actually wanted to help him for a minute there," Sakura muttered in disdain. "He had been so helpless though... What had happened? What barrier had I broke to make him so angry? It was almost as if he had been trying to tell me that he was lonely..." Sakura fumed then, tearing her hands through her locks. "I just don't get it!"

Currently, she was barefoot, and feeling like a Cinderella that had never gotten a chance to dance with her prince.

While our Cinderela needed her Prince Charming, she had no idea that Prince Charming really needed her so much more fiercely.

.

Unknown to the pinkette, Sasuke had watched her leave. He had seen the blossom be swept away by resent because of his unwillingness to change.

She had broken through a barrier of his, a very protected barrier that he had never expected to fall. She... He didn't know what to think about her anymore. She was annoying, and stubborn, and strong. But he also knew that she wasn't just that... She was also soft-hearted, and kind, and loving to those she deemed worthy. She was a type of women he had never faced before, at least, not so violently. She had drove her way into his by kicking and screaming. Their personalities clashed like day and night, and the smallest things set both of them off.

It was ridiculous how he even cared to digest this information without denying every last realization.

So without even thinking of the eventual consequences of his actions, Sasuke had found his way to the grand staircase, stationed at the very front of the Uchiha Manor. It was where Cinderella had left her slippers.

He quickly plucked them from the ground, and inspected them closely over the light of the sun.

They were probably the second brightest thing he had ever seen.

.

.

.

**Boys Over Flowers**

**Updated: Saturday, October 18, 2014**

**Author's Note:**

_DISCLAIMER: For those of you who favorited/followed this story before this chapter, listen! In chapter 1 i edited it so that Sakura, Temari, Hinata, and TenTen are all adopted into the Yamanaka family, instead of just being friends. They were all orphans before that. _

_Anyways, enough about that! Hello there poppets! It's been too long, I know! More than a month without an update? I'm terribly sorry, but between volleyball and AP Euro, I'm just out of time! Blame by teacher!_

_The next chapter... Yeah I haven't thought that far yet... It's going to be like 10,000 words so I might take longer than a month... Maybe the boat scene... How to create that in my own fashion... Well I got nothing! ;)_

_"Unlock" is by SS501. I kinda figured that it worked for Sasuke's barrier breaking down a bit. _

_Oh yeah, and I just finished the KD series for this on tuesday! I was so mad with the ending! I wanted to see the wedding! Well, I'll write it for them then when I get there!_

_Please review! They are the best presents I could ever ask for, so please, just jot down a sentence or two, or three, or however much you want to fangirl/boy over this series!_

_Ja-ne!_

_-Cassandra_


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